‘Grind everyone into the ground’: Wilson’s mantra behind Neeru Dhanda’s gold

“Grind everyone into the ground.” That was British coach Peter Wilson’s message to Neeru Dhanda after she took the lead in the women’s trap qualification at the Asian Games.

A day later, the 27-year-old did just that, battling relentless rain and difficult conditions to win a historic gold medal and become the first Indian woman to claim an individual shotgun title at the Asian Games here on Tuesday.

Wilson had another message for Neeru and the Indian team before the competition, urging them to leave nothing to chance.

“Get on that plane in a few days and know that you've done everything in your power to get every single target,” he had told them.

Neeru followed that advice to the letter, holding her nerve in a demanding final despite a difficult build-up that had threatened to derail her Asian Games campaign.

Just 10 days before the competition, Neeru was hospitalised for three days after falling seriously ill. She was suspected to have contracted H1N1 and was so unwell that her participation at the Games was in doubt. She had not even trained for three-and-a-half weeks before arriving in Japan.

“We thought she might have H1N1. She was really, really sick. It was touch and go whether she'd come. She did no training. She's not trained for three and a half weeks. She's shot for two days here in three and a half weeks,” Wilson, the 2012 London Olympics gold medallist in double-trap, said.

Despite the setback, Neeru never lost sight of her goal. Wilson said the focus was on taking one target at a time rather than worrying about the result or the pressure of a medal.

“She’s had to roll through the lows, being in the hospital 10 days ago to being here. She's never lost sight of the goal to work one target at a time,” he said.

The conditions made the final even more challenging, with persistent rain and falling temperatures testing the shooters. But Neeru stayed in contention, refusing to let missed targets or the difficult weather affect her rhythm.

“I thought they all shot brilliantly that first 10 shots. I was amazed the scoring was so high. Then the next five, it kept going. Obviously, Neeru missed, as they all did, but she just kept grinding away. One, one, one, one,” Wilson said.

Staying focused and shutting out distractions had been a key part of Neeru’s preparation. Wilson said they had worked extensively on keeping her mind on the target in front of her rather than thinking about what lay ahead.

“We've worked a lot on staying in the present, staying in the moment. The brain, of course, likes to trick you into the future and drag you back. It's about working one target at a time and giving you a full and utter commitment to each target, ignoring all the outside influences,” he said.

Wilson credited Neeru’s work ethic and commitment for her success, pointing out that her achievement was the result of sustained effort rather than talent alone.

“She is very talented, yes, but you put the work in and the results will come. Unfortunately, sport is not two plus two equals four. That's why we all love sport so much because it's a rollercoaster. It's an emotional rollercoaster,” he said.

What stood out most to Wilson was Neeru’s dedication and clarity of purpose.

“Her commitment and her work rate. Her work rate is incredible. She's very clear in her own mind what she wants to do. Since I've been involved, it's been for me to understand her better and for her to understand my way of coaching and to try and help her just be the best version of herself,” he said.

Neeru also had to deal with a yellow card during the final, an incident that left Wilson unhappy with the officials. He felt the timing of one of her shots had been started too early and raised the matter with the jury. However, the coach was impressed by how quickly she put the incident behind her.

“I was watching it like a hawk for every one of her shots. And they started that one shot too early. I raised it with the jury. They were quite right to allow her to commit because they'd started early. Then three shots later, yellow card, which, in my opinion, was harsh,” he said.

“But she just brushed it off like a professional, a consummate professional. Just nailed it.”

For Wilson, Neeru’s gold was a moment to savour, particularly after the difficulties she had faced in the build-up. But with the World Championships just a month away, where India will be looking to secure quota places, he is also keen to give the shooters time to recover.

“I think we go home, we dust down. We have a week or two off, decompress. Funny enough, I actually emailed the federation a few days ago saying that I'd like to cancel the national squad camp so that we could decompress from this,” he said.

“Because to roll straight from an Asian Games medal into the World Championships is tricky. The World Championships is important now. It's only a month away and we've got quotas to win.”

Wilson, however, believes Neeru deserves time to appreciate what she has achieved before turning her attention to the next challenge.

“It's an amazing performance by her,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Bridge Desk. It is published from a syndicated feed)