KIYG will help me prepare for int'l meets: Hazarika

ISSF Junior World Cup gold medallist Hriday Hazarika has clinched two golds and one bronze in the junior shooting competitions since his first international tournament in 2016.

The 18-year-old said the third edition of the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) will help him prepare for the upcoming international tournaments in 2020. The competition will be held from 10 January 2020 to 22 January 2020 in Guwahati.

"The Khelo India Youth Games will be quite helpful for me to prepare for the upcoming national and international tournaments. All the best shooters will be participating in the competition. My immediate goal is to get into the Indian senior shooting team and participate in the senior ISSF World Cups next year. Thereafter, I will look to qualify for the 2024 Olympics," said Hazarika.

Hazarika, who is currently studying in the eleventh grade in Guwahati, started shooting in his hometown Lakhimpur in Assam.

"I started shooting at the age of eleven. There was a shooting range near my house in Lakhimpur in Assam. Later, I moved to Guwahati for my training in shooting. I participated in my first ISSF Junior World in 2017 and I won gold in the ISSF Junior World Cup in the 10m air rifle event in 2019. I played in a lot of competitions between the two World Cups in India and abroad. Those tournaments helped me to win gold in 2018," said Hazarika.

The shooter is very happy about the fact that the next Khelo India Youth Games will be hosted in Guwahati.

"I am very happy about Khelo India Youth Games being held in Guwahati. It's great that such an important tournament is being held in Guwahati. Khelo India provides the best training to all the athletes. Many athletes have played in the Khelo India Games and have gone on to perform well for the Indian senior teams," Hazarika added.

( With inputs from IANS )