Chinki Yadav is an Indian professional shooter who rose to glory after qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Wiki/Biography
Chinki Yadav was born in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh in the year 1998 (age 21 Years; as in 2019). She was passionate about shooting since childhood. Chinki has been a day-boarder and was very popular in her school in Bhopal. Chinki and her family used to reside inside the Tatya Tope Stadium in Bhopal.
Family
Chinki Yadav belongs to a financially weak family. Chinki’s father, Mehtab Singh Yadav is an electrician in Bhopal and has been associated with the sports department for the past 23 years. Her mother is a homemaker. Chinki has a younger brother who is also a promising shooter of Madhya Pradesh.
Parents of Chinki Yadav showing the medals won by Chinki
Rise of a Shooting Champion
Chinki Yadav grew up watching shooters; as her family lived inside a shooting stadium, and developed an interest in the sport herself. Recalling the day when Chinki had joined the shooting academy in 2012, Chinki’s father, Mehtab Singh Yadav says,
As my home is inside the stadium Chinki used to see others playing different games. She wanted to join the summer camp. I didn’t know that decision was the making of a star in my family.”
Soon after joining the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy, Chinki started attracting the eyeballs of coaches. Chinki was among the few shooters who were selected after a talent hunt for the shooting academy. Chinki went on to win the medal in the national championship. She spends most of her time at the shooting academy.
Chinki Yadav
Elated and encouraged with Chinki’s inspiring performance, her father, Mehtab Singh Yadav has also admitted his younger son in the academy. However, Mehtab Singh admits that none of this would have been possible without the help of the sports department. He says,
Shooting is such a costly game that it was not possible for me to bear the expenses of buying guns and ammunition from my pocket. My family owes a lot to the sports department.”
The Olympic Ticket
On 8 November 2019, Chinki Yadav secured India’s 11th Tokyo Olympic quota in shooting after qualifying for the women’s 25m Pistol final at the 14th Asian Championships, held in Doha. She shot a perfect 100 to finish second in the qualification stage with a score of 588, behind Thailand’s Naphaswan Yangpaiboon (590).
Chinki Yadav at the 14th Asian Championships, held in Doha
Earlier, Chinki had won a 25m pistol gold medal in the National Shooting Selection Trials at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi and a team silver in the 19th Surendra Singh memorial shooting championship.
In the 61st National Shooting Championship, held in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala from 11th to 31st December 2017, she set a new record and won the gold medal, there in the final round, she set a new national record by making 31 hits out of 50.
Chinki Yadav after winning the gold in the 61st National Shooting Championship, held in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala