Manavjit Singh strikes gold with Mansher mantra

New Delhi, Sept 26: A bookworm who shoots? Manavjit Singh isn't exactly the archetypal Indian shooter. The tall, sturdy 22-year-old would...

New Delhi, Sept 26: A bookworm who shoots? Manavjit Singh isn’t exactly the archetypal Indian shooter. The tall, sturdy 22-year-old would fit in well with the hip, young Delhi crowd. There is one difference: That gold medal in trap event at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur.

Manavjit seems to have finally set aside his business management ambitions for later. “It’s not possible. I’m aiming for the Asian Games now. Everything else can wait,” he said. That probably includes a delayed fishing trip: A yen which prompted him to buy a state-of-the-art fishing rod from Kuala Lumpur.

After the Commonwealth Games success, Manavjit is buoyant enough to deviate from precedent, saying, “We’ve got a lot of help from the government,” before moving on to the cricket farce at Kaula Lumpur, the hot topic of the afternoon.

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Fresh out of his BCom (Hons) course from Venkateswara College, Manavjit is keen on MBA and isn’t worried about the money while he waits. “That’s no hassle, dad’s been taking care ofeverything,” he said.

Manavjit’s father Gurbir Singh made his mark on the shooting scene too, winning a silver medal in the team trap event in the 1982 Asiad. And now, his son has found a niche as India’s best bet after Mansher Singh in the trap event. Together, they landed India’s first gold at the Games. After a poor start of 22, Manavjit pulled it off for India with an impressive 25, 25 and 23 in the next three rounds. Though the last year hasn’t been too good for him, Manavjit seems to have turned the corner after Malaysia. And after a short break, Manavjit is off to Italy to train with an Italian coach, just as he did before the Commonwealth Games.

FACTFILE

1995 Asian Clay Target Shooting Championships (China): Gold (trap team event; New Asian record)

1995 Asian Shooting Championships (Jakarta): Silver (trap team event; New record)

1995 Asian Shooting Championships (Jakarta): Finalist (Individual event)

1995-96 British Grand Prix: Winner, Individual juniortrap event

1995 South Asian Federation Games (Chennai): Gold (team); silver (Individual)

1995-96 Junior Welsh Open: Winner

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1998 Commonwealth Games, Kuala Lumpur: Gold (trap team event; New Games record).

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