Anish Bhanwala, all of 15, becomes India's youngest ever gold-medalist at the Commonwealth Games.
Anish Bhanwala created history on Friday by becoming the youngest ever gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) for India.
The 15-year-old bagged the top prize in the men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event in Gold Coast, Australia.
This is Anish's first appearance at the CWG. On Friday, he set a new Games record with a perfect final round of shooting.
Born on September 26, 2002, in Sonipat, Haryana, the prodigy has also won gold medals at the ISSF Junior World Cup and the ISSF Junior World Championships
Shooting was always Anish's favourite sport, despite no one from his family having any interest in it. His father, however, always supported him and borrowed a pistol for him to shoot at a range in a school in Karnal when he was merely-seven-years-old.
Anish soon moved to Delhi in search of better facilities. According to a report by The Field, he struggled to even make it to the CWG because his Standard X exams were clashing. In March, Anish took part in the ISSF World Cup in Mexico and the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney. Following that, he was to depart to Gold Coast for the CWG.
With no options for giving re-exams, Anish was allowed to miss a couple of papers, starting from March 5, and take the exams over two stints, only after getting a letter of recommendation from the National Rifle Association of India and an application from his school, St Theresa’s Convent in Karnal.
Anish was always a good student, but had to sacrifice grades at times in his quest for excellence at the shooting range. In 1998, a 15-year-old Abhinav Bindra had become India's ever youngest participant at the CWG. Twenty years later, Anish Bhanwala has become the country's youngest ever gold-medalist. The future of Indian shooting looks promising!
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 "India's Anish Bhanwala celebrates his CWG gold medal on Friday")
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