NEW DELHI — Indian female athletes achieved major international milestones on Tuesday, delivering exceptional performances across weightlifting and shooting arenas abroad. In Canada, collegiate powerlifter Sneha Gharami dominated the junior division with a four-gold sweep, while shooter Neeru Dhanda spearheaded India’s charge at the Asian Games to secure a team silver medal in the women’s trap competition.
At the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship held in Winnipeg, Canada, Gharami established her supremacy in the junior 76 kg category. The West Bengal native and second-year Bachelor of Arts student at CT University swept all three individual disciplines by lifting 190 kg in the squat, 120 kg in the bench press, and 190 kg in the deadlift. Each of her lifts set new championship benchmarks, earning her three individual gold medals and a fourth gold for an overall aggregate score of 500 kg. Reflecting on her performance, Gharami credited rigorous discipline for her success, adding that international exposure provided vital tournament experience to handle high-stakes pressure in upcoming events.
Meanwhile, at the Asian Games, Indian shooter Neeru Dhanda delivered a stellar performance to guide the national contingent to a silver medal in the women’s trap team event. Teaming up with Aashima Ahlawat and Manisha Keer, the Indian trio amassed a combined score of 328 points to finish second behind China, which captured gold with 346 points, while Kuwait took bronze with 325 points. Dhanda anchored the team’s podium finish with an exceptional individual tally, hitting 118 out of 125 targets across five qualification rounds with series scores of 24, 24, 24, 23, and 23. Her performance placed her jointly atop the individual qualification leaderboard alongside Qatar’s Ray Bassil and secured her berth in the individual finals, while teammates Ahlawat and Keer contributed vital totals of 106 and 104 points respectively.
