Against heavy odds, electrician’s daughter Chinki shoots to glory

BHOPAL: Daughter of an electrician , pistol shooter Chinki Yadav from Bhopal, helped India win the team bronze medal in the junior shooting world championship on Wednesday. The Championship is being organised at Schule, Germany. The family of Chinki lives in a dormitory situated at Tatya Tope Stadium. Participating in the 25m pistol event, India secured 1711 points to claim third position. Gold and silver went to China (1734 points) and Thailand (1713 points).
Hailing Chinki’s efforts, sports minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia said, “This is what our players are doing for the country. She is a star of our shooting academy.”
Chinki’s father Mehtab Singh Yadav has been associated with the sports department for the past 21 years. “I have never even dreamt of seeing my daughter playing for the country. I have no words to describe her achievement of bagging the bronze medal for the country,” said Mehtab with tears rolling down.
Recalling the day when Chinki had joined the shooting academy in 2012, Yadav said, “As my home is inside the stadium Chinki used to see others playing different games. She wanted to join summer camp. I didn’t know that decision was the making of a star in my family.”
After joining the academy, Chinki soon started attracting eyeballs of coaches. “She was among few shooters selected after talent hunt for the shooting academy. She later took part in the national championship and won the medal,” said Yadav.
For past two years, Chinki has been a regular member of the Indian shooting squad in the junior category. “Most of her time is spent at the shooting academy. She is a day-boarder,” added Yadav.
Chinki’s inspiring performance encouraged Yadav to admit his younger son in the academy. “He was admitted last year in the academy, and now is a promising shooter of the academy,” said Yadav.
Giving credit to sports minister Scindia and the sports department, Yadav said, “Shooting is such a costly game that it was not possible for me to bear the expenses of buying guns and ammunition from my pocket. My family owe a lot to the sports department.”
Minister Scindia has decided to give special attention to such athletes. “I have arranged a noted nutritionist for academy players. There will be psychologists and others for overall development of players. Players like Chinki have proved that there is no dearth of talent and we will keep supporting them,” Scindia said.