Chandigarh girl overcomes club foot to beat Olympic champion in World University Shooting

CHANDIGARH: Born with a club foot, 22year-old rifle shooter

Vinita Bhardwaj

is a perfect example of what human will can achieve. The Chandigarh girl overcame several odds to win gold in women's 10m air rifle event at the recently-concluded World University Shooting Championship in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Vinita's feat gets magnified considering the fact that she defeated world No.1

Yi Siling

of China - who happens to be a 2012 London Olympics gold medallist as well as 2016 Rio Olympics bronze medallist. The BA final year psychology student of DAV College, Chandigarh shot a score of 206.0 in the final to claim gold, while Siling managed a score of 205.6 and took bronze. Vinita had final shots of 10.6 and 9.7 as compared to Siling's 9.8 and 10.3.

The hurdles Vinita managed to cross en-route winning the gold were manifold. She has had to endure four surgeries on her right foot in the last eight years, and it becomes difficult for her to continue standing in shooting ranges for more than two hours. The cold conditions in Europe made her foot swell and she had to take injections to reduce pain. "This medal has ended all the pain. I am standing with pride on the podium," Vinita said. Her journey has not been without its share of trials and tribulations. Daughter of an Army officer -

Col S K Bhardwaj

- she decided to take up shooting in 2008 and was coached by Deepak Dubey.

However, she had to face rejection from Mission Olympics Programme of the Indian Army because of her condition. Despite that, Vinita decided to train harder and started competing in various international shooting competitions. "Participating in international meets like the Shooting Hopes Championship and Junior World Cup in Germany in 2011boosted my confidence. I also learnt to adjust to different weather conditions," Vinita said. Vinita also helped India win 10m air rifle team gold with Simrat Chahal, Dilreen Gill. Another girl from Chandigarh - Anjum Moudgil - also performed exceedingly well in the prestigious event. Moudgill, a South Asian Games gold medallist, pocketed silver in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions after scoring 457.7 in the final.

Ekambir Singh Mandi of Punjabi University (Patiala) and

Milanpreet Singh

of Panjab University also won gold in 10m air rifle team event along with Akhil Sheoran of Delhi University. Similarly, Ajitesh Kaushal of Panjab University won 25m standard pistol team gold along with Bhavesh Shekhawat of Manav Rachna International University, Faridabad and

Arpit Goel

of Jamia Milia Islamia University, Delhi. Namanveer Brar of Panjab University won team gold in men's trap along with Arjun Singh of Rajiv Gandhi Law University, Patiala and

Yuvraj Kumar Mahajan

of Delhi University.

India ended with five gold, two silver and three bronze medals.