Jhajjar: Golden girl Palak Gulia gets rousing welcome at native village

Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, October 8

Shooter Palak Gulia, who clinched gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol in Asian Games, was accorded a warm welcome on reaching her native village Nimana in the Badli subdivision of the district. She came to the village on a tractor from Badli amid drum beats and patriotic songs.

“I did not expect such a warm welcome, but moments like these make a player feel that he/she has really done something worthwhile for the country. I have toiled hard for this day. My next target is to win a medal in the Olympics but before that, I will participate in the Asian Shooting Games this month to get a quota for the Olympics,” said Palak.

Giving the credit to her parents for the achievement, she said she could not describe her parents’ support in words. “They did all they could have done for me to achieve this feat. However, there are many other people who are also responsible for my success, so I want to thank them too,” Palak added.

She demanded that the state government should open shooting ranges in rural areas so that rural talent could be explored and facilities be provided to them near their homes to hone their skills.

“People in urban areas know that shooting is a game but people in rural areas do not know much about it so the game will gain popularity in the rural areas if shooting ranges are set up here,” said Palak.

Later, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Kamlesh Dhanda along with BJP state president Om Prakash Dhankar reached Nimana village to congratulate the player on her achievement. Before them, Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda attended her felicitation function.