Dhanda, who had topped qualification, produced 28 hits in the final to claim a historic gold for India. But according to Wilson, the achievement was even more significant given that the 26-year-old had been struggling with illness less than two weeks before the competition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a bit of a rollercoaster, I\u2019ve got to admit. Considering Neeru was very poorly only 10 days, 12 days ago, and it was looking like she might not even be able to make the Asian Games. She didn\u2019t do any training in the build-up. And so to be here now, having her lead from the very front, it\u2019s been an attritional three days, long three days. And then to shoot 28 out of 30 in the way she did, I couldn\u2019t be happier for her,\u201d Wilson told reporters after Neeru\u2019s win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Wilson, a British Olympic champion who won double trap gold at the London 2012 Games, said the final demanded exceptional concentration as persistent rain combined with fading light to make conditions increasingly difficult.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI mean, the conditions were really tricky. You know, it just rained all day. And now we\u2019re very lucky, it stopped raining, but it\u2019s getting dark. So not only was it raining, the light was dim. And that again makes it more tricky. So you struggle to get a good connection with the gun. And then, of course, as you\u2019re looking down the rib, the rain\u2019s bouncing off it. You\u2019re getting wet, the rain\u2019s running down the back of your neck. It\u2019s really very, very difficult,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The pressure intensified as the final progressed and shooters were eliminated in stages. Dhanda herself faced an additional hurdle when she received a yellow card for taking too long over a shot, a decision Wilson challenged before the jury.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAnd all the while, people are getting bibbed out, knocked out. You\u2019re going in blocks of 10, then 5 and 5 and 5. And in that moment, she was needing one more target to win gold. And then she got given a yellow card for taking too much time, which I felt was really unfair because they\u2019d started the timer too early. I objected with the jury, they resettled. Neeru was incredible. She was more composed than anybody. And she settles herself and shoots it.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
For Wilson, the key before the final was not to burden Dhanda with the significance of the occasion, despite her finishing top of qualification.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cJust grind them down and work one target at a time. It\u2019s really very simple. Hard to do, easy to say. Of course, there is other stuff that\u2019s going on in one\u2019s mind, but you have to try and catch that, bring it back to this moment. Be present and just one target at a time.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With the Asian Games gold secured, the Indian team will turn its attention to the mixed team event before beginning preparations for the World Championships in Doha.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo now we\u2019ve got a mixed team tomorrow, so we dust ourselves down this evening and go hard for tomorrow. Back home then to India. And I\u2019m hoping these guys are going to have a couple of weeks off, maybe a touch longer, just to decompress. This has been an amazing competition for us, for Neeru especially, in Olympic trap. And of course, I want the best for her and for the rest of the team going into the World Championships. So depending on how the next few weeks go, and I\u2019m hoping that, as I said, she can decompress from this incredible, this enormous feat, then we\u2019ll go hard for Doha, for the World Champs.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With the Asian Games gold secured, the Indian team will turn its attention to the mixed team event before beginning preparations for the World Championships in Doha.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Special Cricket Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n