No TV, on rations: How Neeru Dhanda’s mum missed her Asian Games triumph

Neeru Dhanda revealed the whole story of how her mother missed out on a historic moment at the Asian Games where she won gold. India’s shooting sensation said her mother had no access to television and had to stand in queues at the grocery store she was closer to victory.

Neeru etched her name in Indian shooting history at the age of 26 when she returned from the Asian Games with two gold medals. Her biggest breakthrough came on September 30 when she became the first Indian woman to win an individual gold medal in trap shooting at the Asian Games. The very next day, she added the mixed team gold to her collection.

She ended her campaign with silver in the women’s team competition, capping off a sensational campaign. However, it was her individual medal win her mother could not follow.

Speaking about AajTak’s Panchayat Punjab and Haryana, the 26-year-old explained how the story unfolded. Neeru said she spoke to her mother the day before she won the medal, but her mother was worried about her health. Neeru was severely affected by the H1N1 infection just before the Games.

“There is a BPL card in Haryana and all family members get ration. So my mother went there to collect it,” Neeru recalled with a smile.

“The day before I spoke to her around 3.30pm in India and I was also sick for a few days at that time. I got an infection that was spreading in Delhi. About a week before I left, my face was completely swollen and my neck was swollen. So I didn’t really have time to train.”

“So when we talked the day before, my mother was very worried about what was going to happen. Then I told her, “Everything will be fine. We’ve come this far, so the same thing will happen in the future.”

‘MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO USE A SMARTPHONE’

Neeru said her mother didn’t know about her gold medal hunt because they don’t have a TV at home and her mother doesn’t know how to operate a smartphone.

“My mother didn’t know when I played. She didn’t watch it on TV. We don’t have a TV at home. My mom has a small phone, a phone with a keypad.”

“I gave her a smartphone but she doesn’t know how to use it. I tried to teach her once or twice but she doesn’t know how to operate it,” said Neeru.

The Indian shooter then urged her mother to go to a neighbor’s house and see if she could watch it there. But even this plan failed and her mother decided to continue her daily work.

“Then I called her and told her to go see a neighbor and see if anyone had it. She tried that too but still couldn’t find anyone.”

“So I was playing and she was doing her homework and went to pick her ration. At the same time, I wanted to win a medal,” said Neeru.

During the session, Neeru also revealed that it was her mother who was the driving force behind her taking up the sport.

“My mother was very strong in deciding that I had to shoot. She was totally supportive and helped me leave home and said, ‘Do it, I’ll take care of everything’,” said Neeru.

The Indian shooter ended up buying a TV at home so her parents could watch her perform.

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