EXCLUSIVE: Winning the Olympic berth is Chinki Yadav's gift to her electrician father

Shooter Chinki Yadav believes her life is changing. In spite of having failed to earn a medal at the recently concluded 14th Asian Shooting Championship in Doha, the 21-year old pistol shooter from Bhopal has achieved a major feat, ensuring her participation at Tokyo Olympics next year. In the quaifications, she shot an exceptional 296 today to reach a total of 588 and made it to the Final. She came behind Thailand’s Naphaswan Yangpainboon, who shot 590 to finish at the top.

Speaking to The Bridge from her residence at Bhopal on Sunday, Chinki mentioned how her renowned coach Jaspal Rana's kept her motivated.

"This will be my maiden participation in the Olympics. After having ensured the berth, Jaspal Sir told me that my life is now changing. I must have to work harder than I have done so far," Chinki added that her mental preparation for Tokyo has already begun. She does not have anyone to idolise. She does not need to watch videos or read motivational books to get inspired. Chinki says, "I have been doing meditation for a long time which helps me to develop my concentration, which is highly required in shooting. Apart from that, I know I have to invest more time in practice. I will resume training at Madhya Pradesh State Rifle Shooting academy in Bhopal from Monday."

The state shooting academy is Chinki's cradle. Her father, Mehtab Singh Yadav is a professional electrician working for the state sports department for the past three decades. He was on duty when one of his colleagues informed about his daughter's achievement. Speaking to The Bridge, he said, "I did not feel that I would have to celebrate so early. I bought sweets and distribute them to my colleagues. I couldn't contain my happiness after hearing the news, but I knew either today or tomorrow this was going to happen. Throughout my life, I worked hard and tried to fulfil the dreams of my daughter and son. I knew I would get the result one day. It came little bit early."

Mehtab went nostalgic about Chinki's first coach at the state rifle shooting academy who had predicted that she would go a long way. He added, "Chinki's concentration level always very high since she took her admission at the academy in 2012. She pursued the sport with sheer concentration and her progress among the academy students was far ahead." He has even taken a one-room flat on rent near the academy so that his daughter does not have travel a lot.

Chinki had started playing snooker in the academy. She said, "After snooker was stopped in the academy, I started shooting." She promises to give her best at the Olympics. Asked about the tough challenge in Tokyo, Chinki mentioned Greek World Champion pistol shooter Ana Korakaki's name. She clarified, "She is a great shooter. She will pose a threat to all of us." Chinki, a bronze medal winner in Junior World Championship and a gold medal winner in Junior World Cup, is now waiting for her coach Jaspal Rana to reach the Madhya Pradesh state shooting academy and resume training.

Her father also seemed optimistic that Chinki will be able to bring laurel for the country from Tokyo. He does not want to switch over to any big flat. Rather he said, "My present one-room flat is okay for us. I only want Chinki's success and her brother Rajesh's success, who also is a shooter."