From Haryana to History: Uncovering 18-Year-Old Palak Gulia's Rise In India's Shooting Sport

18-year-old Palak Gulia is changing the game, one shot at a time, and with our new series Jazzba as we intend to bring you stories of women trailblazers in sports, we begin with taking a deep dive into Gulia's journey to gold.

Tanya Malik
palak gulia asian games gold jhajjar

Despite the Haryana state emerging as the driving force behind India's sports landscape, little has changed for females who are part of the sector. "Aage kya?", even Palak's numerous achievements on the national and international platforms didn't make a big difference. Strangely, many in her town Jhajjar continue to favour a conventional career path over sports since the latter unfortunately never got the full-fledged career label. However, Palak's grit changed it all. This is her story, a 18-year-old who challenged the established mindsets, turned her dreams into reality, and shot to stardom like no other.

A Jhajjar, Haryana, resident, Gulia had seen both the ends of the state - one reeking of the deeply ingrained gender biases, and the other producing numerous talented athletes in different sports. Gulia was determined.

Breaking Stereotypes, Indeed Begins At Home!

That extra push from her parents added to the shine. "My parents enrolled me for shooting because they thought it would help me improve my concentration in studies," said Palak. Her parents realised her potential and soon she got into the sport full-time. 

"Here in Haryana, there isn't a culture to push girls in this area but my parents always treated me equally. Ever since the beginning, they pushed me towards sports,” Palak’s eyes brimmed with joy as she spoke of her support system.

palak gulia journey

When Palak stepped into shooting, nobody knew about the sport. It was after Palak represented India in the Asian Games that people began to recognise shooting and Gulia’s contribution to the sport. Many still wondered what was the purpose behind her getting into the sport and how eventually it would make a difference in her life. 

The initial chapter was the toughest. To get into a sport like shooting, Palak wanted to first gather as much information as she could about the game. However, since not a lot of information was available both online and offline, it was a big hurdle. Further, finding a coaching center and coach emerged as an issue. When Palak started to look out for coaching, there weren't many coaches available, most of the ones she found looked at the game monetarily.  (Who Is Sheetal Devi: World's First Armless Archer)

‘Comeback With Your Actions’, Palak’s Fail-Proof Mantra

A young girl getting into a new sphere of life, a sport that most people hadn't heard of always had comebacks for those who would question her choice to get into sports kept mum for the longest time. I was curious. Why? "My parents always told me, 'Give them a comeback with your actions'," Palak smiled. Actions are always about reaching our goals and Palak's comeback couldn't get better.

At the age of 18, Palak Gulia was India's first woman to bag gold in the 10 m air pistol event at the Asian Games and rose to fame overnight. There are many other national and international accolades to her name including a gold at the ISSF Junior Cup in Suhl, Germany, and silver in the 10m air pistol team event at the Shotgun and Rifle/Pistol World Championships in Cairo, Egypt. 

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Handling The Pressures Of A Mental Game

Shooting isn’t just about firing a gun. It is a game closely linked to our psyche. Do you know shooters have to constantly keep a check on their heartbeat? Palak avoids listening to anything upbeat or slow to regulate her heartbeat during her training and matches. The psychological impact of the game is so intense that the slightest anxiety can get her in trouble during a match.

palak gulia asian games sport shooting india

“Before the match, there is usually no pressure. It just feels like you have to head up and shoot with your pistol but as you dig deeper, you get to realise what importance these little things hold in the game,” she said.

Palak’s Guiding Light, Reliance Foundation 

Gulia joined Reliance Foundation in September 2022. By that time, she had already played two international games. However, as an athlete, she felt she needed support to reach greater heights. With the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports Scholarship Program, Palak got all assistance under one roof, from getting her daily diet plan from nutritionists to maintain her physical health to sessions with a psychologist for improved mental health. “A sports person's success is not only theirs. Reliance has helped me with everything,” she added. 

Hoping For A Brighter, Equal Sports Scene In India

In a country like India where despite women having broken down many barriers in the sports sphere, gender biases continue to exist, Gulia feels it is all slowly changing. “Now, I see both men and women being treated fairly both domestically and internationally. Across sports, I feel, people have started to realise that women are no less and the conception for all these years towards women in sports was wrong."

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Regardless of shooting being an Olympic sport and a big contributor to India's big wins in the past, it still hasn't bagged the 'popular sport' tag and Palak feels it is a big obstacle. “Shooting isn't a widely known sport in India. It is a drawback for both our sport and country. If shooting was promoted as well as other sports in India, we would have better athletes joining the game, there is no dearth of talent in the country,” she said.

india sports palak gulia

“There aren’t enough shooting ranges in the country. Government and state governments should work on building more shooting ranges. There are only three major ranges in the country and for the big country we are, this is such a small number,” she added.

The 18-year-old shooter feels there is a lot of talent in the country but due to lack of promotion of shooting in the country, many aren’t aware of the opportunities they can have.

As Palak continues her journey to get better at her game and bring India the biggest accolades, she swears by just one big formula and each one of us, irrespective of what sphere we are into should take note of this one!“It's not only about winning, you should always focus on giving your best.”

More power to Palak and we can’t wait for her to make it even bigger! 

 
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