Neeru Dhanda says mother missed her Asian Games individual trap gold on September 30 because she was collecting ration

Neeru Dhanda said her mother missed watching her individual trap gold at the Asian Games on September 30 because she had gone to collect ration and could not access a television.

The 26-year-old returned from the Asian Games with two gold medals and a silver, claiming the individual trap gold on September 30 and following it with the mixed team gold the next day; she finished the campaign with a silver in the women's team event. Neeru said she was severely hit by a H1N1 infection right before the games, adding that she had lost training time: "I had got this infection that was going around in Delhi. About a week before going there, my face had completely swollen up, and my neck had also swollen up. So I didn't really get any time to train."

Neeru described a phone call with her mother the day before the individual final, saying: "The day before that, I spoke to her at around 3:30 pm in India, and I had also been ill for several days at that time." She said her mother was worried about her condition and that she tried to reassure her: "So when we spoke the day before, my mother was very worried about what would happen. Then I told her, "Everything will be fine. We have come this far, so the same will happen going forward.""

Explaining why her mother could not watch the event live, Neeru recalled: "There is a BPL card in Haryana, and all the members of the family are given ration. So my mother had gone there to collect it," Neeru recalled with a smile. She added: "My mother didn't know when I was playing. She wasn't watching it on TV. We don't have a TV at home. My mother has a small phone, a keypad phone."

Neeru said she had given her mother a smartphone but that her mother could not use it: "I had given her a smartphone, but she doesn't know how to use it. I had tried once or twice to teach her, but she doesn't know how to operate it," said Neeru. She also described urging her mother to try to watch at a neighbour's house: "Then I called her and told her to go and watch it at a neighbour's place if someone had it. She tried that as well, but she still couldn't find anyone."

On her mother's role in her career, Neeru credited her as the catalyst for taking up the sport: "My mother was very strong in making the decision that I had to do shooting. She completely supported me and helped me leave home, telling me, 'You do it, I will handle everything,'" said Neeru.

Neeru said she will get a TV at home so her parents get to see her perform.