India Takes Women's Trap Team Silver at Asian Games

India added a second shotgun medal at the Asian Games as Manisha Keer, Neeru and Aashima Ahlawat finished second in the women's Trap team event and carried home the silver.

How a team Trap event works

Trap is a shotgun discipline in which the competitor fires at clay targets thrown away from the firing stand at speed and at unpredictable angles. In the team competition the scores of the individual members are added together, so a single poor series by one shooter can cost the whole side a place on the podium. That is why the Prime Minister described the Indian performance as a commendable display of precision, focus and teamwork rather than praising any one shooter.

The Prime Minister's message

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the three shooters on the medal. He wished the whole team continued success and said he hoped they would go on to bring more laurels to the country. The message was issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

Where the medal fits

Shooting has long been one of the more reliable sources of Indian medals at the Asian Games, though for many years the strength lay in the rifle and pistol events rather than in the shotgun disciplines. A team silver in Trap points to a settled group of women shooters competing at a continental standard together, which matters more for the long run than a single strong result. One of the three medallists, Neeru, features in the Indian Trap results of the same Games, so the squad's depth is visible across both the individual and the team columns of the score sheet.

Points to remember

• Event: women's Trap team, Asian Games
• Medal won by India: silver
• Shooters: Manisha Keer, Neeru and Aashima Ahlawat
• Qualities praised by the Prime Minister: precision, focus and teamwork