Each shot is a decider when you don't have an Olympic quota, says Mehuli Ghosh

The West Bengal shooter shot 632.2 to finish second in the Minimum Qualification Score section of the 10m Air Rifle event in the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup.

Published : Apr 24, 2019 09:58 IST , CHENNAI

(File photo) Mehuli Ghosh shattered the previous national record and also achieved her personal best at a World Cup.
(File photo) Mehuli Ghosh shattered the previous national record and also achieved her personal best at a World Cup.
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(File photo) Mehuli Ghosh shattered the previous national record and also achieved her personal best at a World Cup.

Mehuli Ghosh added another feather to her cap when she shot 632.2 to finish second in the Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) section of the 10m Air Rifle event in the ongoing ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup at Beijing on Tuesday.

Mehuli finished behind China’s Zhu Yingjie, who shot 634.4.

Well past the 590.0 cut-off for this event, this score was not only the best score among Indian women competing in both the Qualification and MQS section, it was also the second the highest score overall in Women's 10m Air Rifle.

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In the process, Mehuli also shattered the previous national record and also achieved her personal best at a World Cup.

Mehuli's coach Joydeep Karmakar said, “She did shoot shot 632.7 previously, but that was in the Surendra Singh Memorial Championship in 2018, which is not calculated for the national record.”

 

After the event, Mehuli told  Sportstar  about how the challenge keeps mounting with each tournament.

“It was very challenging today. When you are at the World Cup stage, it is never easy. Also, the fact remains that it is all a part of the selection process for Tokyo 2020. When you don’t own a quota but the game is very much on, you need to be right up there. Each shot was a decider today,” the CWG silver medallist said.

Read: Olympic quotas reallocated to World Cups in Beijing, Munich

When asked about how difficult things get when one is constantly under pressure, the 19-year-old shooter from West Bengal says, “Yes, it (pressure) has been mounting, especially in the recent past. But then at the end of the day even if I get tired, I ask myself why I started all this and consider all the efforts that I have put in to reach here. Breaking records, of course feels good but then benchmarks are set to be broken.”

Mehuli, who will participate in the Rifle/Pistol World Cup in Munich in May, however, kept mentioning how Karmakar’s Shooting Academy (JKSA) has been the boon in her life. “He is an anchor in my life and career. It is he, who transformed my thought process. JKSA is like a temple for me," she concluded.

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