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Abhinav Shaw became the youngest gold medallist at the Khelo India Youth Games when he teamed up with Mehuli Ghosh to help West Bengal win the 10m air-rifle mixed team event in Pune on Sunday.
The 10-year-old from Asansol raised his game enough in the final to ensure Mehuli Ghosh's classy display would not result in any medal other than her second gold.
The sixth-standard student had to bide his time to get on the range and display his talent, not being among the 16 shooters chosen to compete in the individual events in either Junior (under-21) and Youth (under-17) categories. He was not about to let it go.
Shaw, whose parents named him after India's Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra, dealt with the qualification and the final with a calm that would be the hallmark of any top marksman.
A shy lad, embracing quiet, he has taken rapid strides in the direction his father Rupesh and coach Joydeep Karmakar, who missed Olympic bronze in 2012, have chosen for him.
It was clear that the Karmakar-trainees complemented one another well.
In the final, where each series has a time limit, Mehuli decided to let her young team-mate take the first crack.
"I take a little longer than him to line up my shot. He shoots pretty quickly and when we have a minute to complete our series, it helps to have him go first since he shoots quickly," said Mehuli.
The West Bengal team scored 501.7 points in the final, better than their 498.2 in the Junior final and the 498.8 in the Youth final in Thiruvananthapuram.
