"There Is No Magic Pill": Coach Peter Wilson Reveals Secret Behind Neeru Dhanda's Golden Success
Neeru Dhanda etched her name into the history books with a historic gold medal at the Asian Games.
Neeru Dhanda etched her name into the history books with a historic gold medal at the Asian Games, becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual trap gold medal at the continental showpiece. While her success has become a watershed moment for the trap event in the country, not many know that she was hospitalised 10 days before the start of the Asian Games. In an epic testament to grit and determination, Neeru, coming off health issues that led to her being admitted to hospital, grabbed the gold medal in an event where India hardly wins any medals at the Asiad. And all within 10 days.
Neeru's coach Peter Wilson spoke to NDTV in an exclusive interview. Here are the excerpts:
Reporter: Joining me is Peter Wilson, who is Neeru Dhanda's coach and a former Olympic champion from the London Olympics 2012. Many, many congratulations to you, Peter. Well, the first question I have to ask you is, what secret pill have you been giving your wards, the 2024 Paris champion, and now we see Neeru on the podium here?
Peter Wilson: There is no magic pill. I wish there was. I often joke about the fairy dust. It doesn't exist. It requires hard work, perseverance, dedication, sacrifice, and Neeru's got all of those qualities in spades.
Reporter: And, you know, talking about Neeru, she only started professional shooting in 2019. 2021 is when she actually got into the system, and in five years, she's standing on the Asian Games podium, winning a gold medal. Tell us, don't you think it's been a really quick rise for her?
Peter Wilson: I mean, yes, and I also hope it's inspirational for a lot of guys and girls back home. It shows you that back in India, if you're prepared to dedicate yourself to something, you yourself could be standing here on the podium, at the very top of the podium at the Asian Games. But again, it comes down to dedication, sacrifice, perseverance, etc. It doesn't come easy.
Reporter: Tell us, what does Neeru's story communicate to Indian girls, because not many girls in India take up trap shooting?
Peter Wilson: Yeah, you're right. I mean, although I would argue that shooting in India is probably more popular than it would be in the UK. There are a million different backgrounds that come into shotgun shooting across the world, not just in India, and Neeru is just a part of that process. But again, I stress that she sacrifices so much, gives so much to the sport, and that's why she is where she is. That's really her biggest attribute.
Reporter: I'll have to talk to you a little bit about today's match, particularly the final. There was a yellow card. Talk us through that moment, you know, of the yellow card. I didn't quite make out what was happening in the middle.
Peter Wilson: There was a bit of confusion. So the way it works is every time you set up to shoot, they hit a timer. You get 12 seconds to take your shot and call for the target. In this instance, they were occasionally pressing the timer a touch too soon for my liking. So, I objected to the jury, and in this particular instance on Station 1, she hit the target and they allowed it, which was quite correct. Then she moved on to Station 4. Now, this station was the gold-medal station. Were she to hit it, she would take gold. They started the timer too soon. I objected again to the jury, but by the time it was raised, the referee had already dished out a yellow card, which I thought was desperately unfair. Unfazed, utterly unfazed, and fully in her process, Neeru approached the station with complete professionalism and composure, hit the target and, I mean, sent a nation into the atmosphere.
Reporter: Frenzy!
Peter Wilson: Exactly.
Reporter: She has sent the nation into a frenzy, becoming the first Indian woman to win a trap gold. Randhir Singh ji won so many years ago. Tell us a little bit about India. You've been working in India for about a year now. India has had rifle legends in Abhinav and Gagan. Manu did exceedingly well at the Paris Olympics. What would it take for this generation of shooters to become legends?
Peter Wilson: I mean, for fear of repeating the same thing over and over again, it is the age-old adage of perseverance and sacrifice. The more you give, the more you get out. Sadly, sport is not a 2 + 2 = 4 game. Were that to be the case, India would probably never lose at cricket, and that's why we love sport, right? Because it can hurt you. Just when you think you've cracked it, it can hurt you. But more often than not, the more you put in, the more you get out. And so, I'm really hoping that... I've been here now, yeah, you're right, just over a year, a year and a half, and I've got to say I've loved every bit of it. It's down to me, the NRAI and the wider team. We have High Performance Manager Mansher Singh, Head Coach Vikram, High Performance Coach Anwar, Yogi, our junior coach, and the list goes on. We have Ashwini, our physio, TJ, our psychologist, and there are many more. It's down to all of us to put together a platform for these athletes to go on and excel.
Reporter: How early do you see your girls qualifying for LA 2028?
Peter Wilson: I'm just delighted that we're here setting records, and I'm so proud of Neeru. I'm proud of the wider team, and I'm so proud of the country of India. What I can tell you is that we're going to give 110 per cent going into Doha and next year. It's a long road, and I'm certainly not going to put any pressure on them. We're really looking to train very hard, and I'm just super excited.