Tamil Nadu's Nilaa clinches silver, honours late grandmother with medal
Nilaa answered the country’s call without letting personal grief deter her, winning a silver medal in the Trap Youth Women’s individual event;
Tanisska Senthilkumar and Yugan Sakthivel with the gold medal; The trio of Nilaa Raaja Baalu, Tanisska Senthilkumar and Anthra Rajsekar atop the podium
CHENNAI: It has not been the easiest of weeks for Tamil Nadu’s Nilaa Raaja Baalu, who, at such a young age, showed immense composure by answering the nation’s call despite a personal crisis. On August 19, while Nilaa was boarding a flight to join the Indian shooting contingent in Kazakhstan for the ongoing Asian Shooting Championships, she received a call informing her that her grandmother, whom she had visited to seek blessings before departure, had passed away.
“She (Nilaa) spoke to me from the airport, saying she was finding it difficult to cope and suggested she might take a later flight because she was very close to her grandmother. But I spoke to her and convinced her that her grandmother would have insisted she participate and do well. I also reminded her that it was her duty towards the nation, and she understood and went ahead,” said her coach, Asian Championships gold medallist Prithviraj Tondaiman, to DT Next.
Nilaa answered the country’s call without letting personal grief deter her, winning a silver medal in the Trap Youth Women’s individual event. The gold went to fellow Tamil Nadu shooter Tanisska Senthilkumar, who trains at Kongunadu, while bronze was won by Chennai Rifle Club’s Anthra Rajsekar. Nilaa was in contention for gold but a disappointing fourth set, where she scored 18, forced her to settle for silver.
Nilaa began training under Prithviraj since last year’s National Championships. With her Class 12 exams also on the cards, her coach says she balances academics and sport well. “She has been managing both studies and shooting. In shooting, she has been consistent, we shot a few trials together and her performance is improving gradually,” said Prithviraj.
The medal also marked Prithviraj’s first international success as a coach. The Tamil Nadu trio further topped the podium by clinching gold in the Trap Youth Women’s team event.
Earlier this year, Nilaa and her coach travelled to Italy to get her a new gun stock, as the old one was not fitting properly. “We discussed it at length, and the new stock fitted her very well. In fact, the last round she shot here in practice before leaving was a perfect 25 out of 25,” he added.