In the week that witnessed two teenagers stealing the limelight from the likes of Roger Federer and Serena Williams at the US Open, it wouldn’t be apt to doubt the chances of the 16-year-old shooter Malaika Goel at the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon, Korea.
Even more so after her silver-medal-winning feat at the last month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland where she beat much more experienced competitors, including compatriot Heena Sidhu, in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
Even sponsors understand her potential as among the 12 ‘Sports Ratnas’ - Manajit Singh Sandhu (shooting), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), Deepika Kumari (archery), Vinesh Phogat (wrestling), Babita Kumari (wrestling) and l Devendro (boxing) (only seven were present) — unveiled by electronics giant Samsung here on Thursday, Malaika was the youngest.
“Age shouldn’t be a factor,” Maliaka said in reply to persistent questions about her being so young and tough challenge at the Asian Games.
She may still be in school but her understanding of the shooting and related aspects is beyond her age. It’s not difficult to see where that knowledge is coming from. She has several veteran shooters at a phone call’s distance. She is an ardent fan of Abhinav Bindra, who helped her in Glosgow.
“I met him (Bindra) for the first time in Glasgow. He is such a knowledgeable person. There is lot to learn from him. The best part about him is that he doesn’t only talk about shooting.
“I usually get nervous before competition and he helped me immensely on that front in Glasgow,” Malaika said.
She knows the level of competition at the Asian Games will be a couple of notches higher than the CWG but she is confident of a good show in Incheon.
“I didn’t expect to win a medal in Glasgow,” Malaika said on the sidelines of Samsung’s official send-off ceremony for the Asian Games-bound athletes here on Thursday.
“It (performance) is more about your form on the given day, along with some luck going your way, than the form of your opponents. I am confident that things will fall in place in Incheon,” she added.
More than anything, it is the mental fatigue that bogs down athletes. The out-of-suitcase life and continuous pressure to perform wear down players mentally. Malaika, too, is going to face a similar scenario with back-to-back competitions — World Championships (from September 6) in Granada, Spain and Asian Games (from September 19) - lined up for her.
“The World Championships is a crucial event and I’ll try to give my best there but focus will remain on the Asian Games,” said Malaika, who has not yet graduated to the senior level at World Championships and will be competing in the junior category. She leaves for Spain on the fifth of next month.
Her exploits in the shooting range has made her a star in her school — Sacred Heart Convent — in ludhiana. “(laughs) Yes, I have started getting special attention, especially in school. All of it can be distracting sometimes but it is more of a positive than negative,” she said.