Commonwealth Games 2014: The rise of young Malaika Goel

Malaika Goel poses with her silver medal in the 10m air pistol

A nervous final

The youngest player in the Indian squad at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games (CWG), 16 year old Malaika Goel did the country proud by winning the 1st shooting medal for the country at the event when she bagged silver in the 10 m air pistol.

The class VI dropout from Ludhiana didn't start well initially finishing fourth in the qualifying round with a score of 378 out of a possible 400. Goel however was motivated to do better. "I hadn't started well in qualifications and I knew I had to really do something in the final." She overcame her nerves and got off to a brilliant start in the final, where she was leading till the ninth shot, 1.9 points clear of eventual gold medalist Singapore's Shun Xie Teo.

She lost her composure in the 10th shot with a score of 8.6 and played catch up after that. She finished with an aggregate of 197.1 in the finals, behind Shun Teo's 198.6 to win her first medal in the senior category at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre in Dundee. With people praising her focus and her ability to keep her nerves, Goel reveals the truth and admits, "I was very nervous and my hands are still shaking. I had a timing problem, but I am happy I could win at my first Commonwealth Games."

The only time Goel showed signs of being a teenager was on the podium when she lifted her heels slightly, swings on her toes and beamed when receiving the medal as the Indian flag fluttered high.

Malaika's success story

She was introduced to the sport by her neighbour Purnoor Kaur, a district level medallist, when she was only 10 years old. After showing interest and considerable focus, her parents built a range inside her house and encouraged her to pursue the sport.

She stunned everyone when she won a gold medal at the school nationals in 2009 and that is when she decided to pursue the sport professionally. Her decision paid off as she won a gold medal at the Asian Air Gun Championships in Germany in 2009 and bagged another gold at the Junior Internationals in the same year. She followed it up with a silver at the Senior National Championships in December 2012 and won the National Trials in 2013. A silver medal at the Asian Championships in December 2012 and a 6th place finish at the World Cup in Benning brought her to the limelight and this is when Olympic Gold Quest listed her as a talent to watch out for and started supporting her since she was 14.

The committee started in 2001 by legends Geet Sethi and Prakash Padukone looks for talent which can win medals at the Olympics and supports them as best as they can. They are obviously thrilled at her performance. "OGC is very proud to have supported Malaika and I'm sure she will win many more for India the years to come" says CEO Viren Rasquinha, former hockey captain. The Anglian Medal Hunt Company is another non-profit organisation which has backed Goel and they are hopeful that she will win do the nation proud starting with the Youth Olympic Games starting in Nanjing from August 16.

Another boost for Goel was she, along with Yashaswini and Gauri Sheoran won the team gold at the 7th Asian Championships in Kuwait in March earlier this year. Goel also won the bronze at the individual event with a final score of 174.9.

The inspiration behind her CWG glory

In the lead up to the Games, she underwent extensive mental training under mountaineer and motivational speaker Satyavrat D to help her calm down. A documentary "The Secret", a 90 minute movie based on a series of interviews showing how one’s target can be achieved with a positive attitude helped her achieve success and gave her the label of the "Calm Samurai" in the shooting circle.

Malaika’s coach Gurjeet Singh is glad she announced her arrival on the world stage by beating fellow Indian, Heena Sidhu who finished 7th despite topping the qualifiers. He is proud of her 16 medals at the junior level and states that she looks up to Abhinav Bindra as her idol. She yearns to be as successful as him and more importantly seeks to adopt a calm poise like him. It is therefore befitting that the 15th ranked shooter should win her first CWG medal on the day Bindra won his last.