Good Sports: SHOOTING PRODIGY
Ten-year-old Abhinav Shaw of West Bengal was named after Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra and has already started living up to the name. At the recent Khelo India Youth Games in New Delhi, Abhinav and his partner, 19-year-old Mehuli Ghosh, won the gold medal in the 10-meter air rifle team event.
Abhinav became the youngest gold medalist at the Khelo Games, a record that’s unlikely to be broken, partly because the National Rifle Association of India has made it mandatory that children under 10 can’t train at clubs nor compete in shooting events.
Abhinav has been shooting for four years, the last three under the guidance of Joydeep Karmakar, a former Olympian who also coaches Mehuli Ghosh.
“I feel proud for (Abhinav),” Mehuli told Doordarshan News. “He is just 10 years, but is shooting like seniors and juniors.”
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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