‘There was a time I couldn’t even afford ammunition’

[varunik]

‘There was a time I couldn’t even afford ammunition’

Goldfinger Anisa Sayyed Khan, shooter

Bought a double-storeyed house in Faridabad and a plot of land with the R1.25 crore she won in cash rewards after CWG

Back in 2009, Anisa Sayyed Khan and her husband, Mubarak Husain, were finding it tough to pay the monthly rent of Rs. 6,000 for their two-room house in Faridabad’s Sector 46. It took an understanding landlord, who reduced the rent to Rs. 4,000, for the couple to stay put and for Anisa to resume her focus on shooting. But by the end of 2010, Anisa had made enough money to buy a two-storey house in the same locality where, exactly a year earlier, she couldn’t afford to pay the rent.

Born into a lower-middle class Muslim family in Pune, Anisa, the youngest of five siblings, moved to Mewat, a socio-economically backward Muslim-majority region on the Haryana-Rajasthan border after marriage. But the boundaries of conservatism couldn’t prevent her from winning two medals (the individual and team gold in the 25m sports pistol) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and, in the process, giving her family a fillip.

“Shooting is an expensive sport. Due to a technicality, Indian Railways didn’t release my salary in 2009-10. So I was totally dependent on my husband.

At that time, it was really difficult for us to shell out even R6,000 a month. But the Games changed everything. Now, not only do we have a house of our own, young athletes look up to me in a neighbourhood where girls have very little freedom,” says Anisa.

Money Matters
The medals fetched Anisa cash awards worth Rs. 1.25 crore. “I spent a lion’s share of that amount on the house, gave some money to my parents and in-laws and bought a piece of land in my village with the rest,” says Anisa.

Life after the wins has changed beyond recognition for Anisa. There was a time when shopping meant first checking the price tag, but not any more. “I am not brand-conscious, but love to buy branded clothes for my husband. So, not having to look at price tags gives me a sense of satisfaction.”

Then and Now
Economically, things were never too rosy for Anisa. When she was growing up, owning a house in her early 30s was something she could not have imagined even in her wildest dreams. “I hail from a very modest background. My parents still live in a rented house back in Pune,” said Anisha. “It was the support of retired police officer Gani Shaikh that helped me make it big in an expensive sport like shooting.”

Anisa had to work hard to become the toast of the nation. “There was a time when I couldn’t afford ammunition and did dry practice for months. In Pune, I had to change two buses and walk two kilometres to reach the range. One day, after reaching the range, I had to make two local calls to enquire whether the coach was on his way. After paying the bill at the PCO, I was left with no money to pay the bus fare back home, and had to walk around 10 km that day.”

No wonder, her Maruti Dzire is one of her proudest possessions.


Source HT Brunch
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Brunch/Br ... 61182.aspx

[prashantsingh]

Very inspiring.

[Safarigent]

A deserving lady.
Inspiring as the good doctor noted.

[art_collector]

Indeed inspiring.......

[skeetshot]

We do indeed face this piquant situation regularly in India.

There is so much latent talent with a large percentage of our populace unaware of their shooting abilities not having access to guns or training.

Yet for the few who are able to shoot, India is one of the few countries in the world where one can rise economically on account of one's shooting prowess, the motivation in places like Jori village being an example, and admissions in St Stephens College,Delhi University being another.

Thanks to the efforts of NRAI and Sports Ministry, some shooters have been able to fulfill their dreams, yet these are only small steps where a wave can occur.

Even with the limited forum members of IFG, I would wager there could be shooting champions if they could be given direction, training and facilities.

[Bhargav]

huh? never knew an athlete can make that much from "Common Wealth Games". Then how much does an Olympic winner make ? is the money paid by the govt. ? or its the bounty awarded by the Olympics or CWG organization ?

sorry don't know much about all this, pls enlighten me.

Thanks.

[TC]

Feels good to see forum members reading HT

Last Sunday's cover story was really well planned..

TC

[varunik]

@bhargav this money is awarded by different bodies.
CWG gives some as prize, then centre and state govt too separately gives cash awards to motivate, then the employer (railways, police,etc) also gives awards.

[Safarigent]

Varunik,
You are setting up a district rifle association.
Will your charter have a defined role to help shooters from economically weaker sections of society?
We can all say the story is inspiring, but how many of us contribute in making some ones story inspiring?

[varunik]

AB,
our aim is to promote sports.
if a coach finds potential, and our funds allow us, then why not?