Shri Nivetha Paramanantham won a gold and a silver medal at the Grand Prix of Liberation international shooting competition in Plzen, Czech Republic. The 22-year-old Coimbatore girl won gold in the individual 10m air pistol category. She clinched the silver medal in the mixed team competition.
Not new to the circuit, Nivetha had in the past, won a sliver and a bronze in the junior category. She is also a member of Coimbatore Rifle Club.
The shooter topped the Grand Prix qualification list after getting selected among 94 shooters.
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Nivetha shot into limelight in 2014 when she grabbed a silver medal at the 24th Meeting of Shooting Hopes in Czech Republic with a world-class qualification score of 385/400. She has also played in the Indian women’s team in the World Cups in Gabala and Munich in the past.
Playing in the senior category in Czech Republic this time, she qualified with 578 and shot 237.3 in the final. She beat Sandra Reitz of Germany by 0.9 point to claim the gold.
“I am really happy to win the gold medal in the senior category. The silver in the mixed team competition has added to the sweetness. I am now all set to participate in another international shooting championship in Germany,” Shri Nivetha told TOI
Aparna Vasanthakumar, committee member, Coimbatore Rifle Club was all praise for Nivetha and how she emerged to become one of the best shooters at the international level. “We are encouraging young girls to take up the sports and training them to become national and international-level shooters,” Aparna said.
Nivetha is an economics graduate. She is confident of bagging an Olympic medal in the 2020 games.
Feature Image Credit: The Hindu