Agencies
NEW DELHI, Jan 10: A back injury proved to be a blessing in disguise for teenage shooter Nancy, who earned the biggest trophy of her nascent career by winning the women's 10m air rifle gold at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Nancy, barely 13 years and a few months old in 2018, suffered serious injuries to her back when she lost her stepping on an unpaved road, which left her bed-ridden for nearly a month.
The 19-year-old, however, was all grit and gumption on Wednesday while hitting the bullseye on every shot on way to clinching gold, beating compatriot Olympian Elavenil Valarivan and a host of international top-notch shooters.
"Nancy had just stepped out of the house to see off her class-mate when she lost her footing on a rocky road and took a nasty tumble. She was in and out of hospital for a month," her father Azad Singh told PTI from Kurukshetra in Haryana.
"After nearly a month of rest and rehabilitation, when she joined school and was asked to attend PT (physical training) classes, she urged her teacher to be excused as she was suffering from multiple slip discs because of the fall," added Singh, a farmer.
"The teacher, in turn, told her to choose a sport which wasn't as 'strenuous' as PT. Luckily, the shooting coach at school was passing by and asked Nancy if she would be interested in the sport," said Singh, the son of an army man, who did not pursue studies beyond Class VIII.
"Nancy has not looked back since and is so dedicated that she has made us believe that she will compete in the Paris Olympics this year," said Azad, who owns 10 acres of farmland.
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