During his 30 minutes stay at the shooter's home, Modi examined the rifle with which Lajja fired her way to silver at CWG-2010
The state government honoured the Commonwealth Games silver medallist Lajja Gauswami with a Rs5 lakh award in an unprecedented manner.
Chief minister Narendra Modi himself went to Lajja's home in Anand to congratulate her.
The 22-year-old became first Gujarati to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. Lajja teamed up with world champion Tejaswini Sawant to win silver in women's 50-metre rifle 3 position pairs' event.
“It is big booster for me. This might be the first time that the head of the state government has travelled to an athlete's home. Yes, I am on top of the world,” said Lajja, who is the first Gujarat shooter to win a medal at the CWG.The CM spent half an hour at Lajja's residence at Jitodiya in Anand. During his 30-minute stoppage, Modi also examined the rifle with which Lajja fired her way to silver.
Not limiting themselves to the cheque, the state government has assured the shooting star of further help. “He asked us to call them for any further financial assistance. I am really happy that he (Modi) is taking interest in sportspersons,” said Lajja who is gearing up for the Munich World Cup finals.
Next week Lajja will leave for Germany where she will fire in her favourite 30m 3-position rifle event starting on October 24. “My confidence is sky-high. I am expecting a better performance in Munich which will help me in Asian Games also,” she said.
After returning from Germany she will head to Pune where the Asian Games camp will be held. Incidentally, says Lajja, Gujarat government had offered Tejaswini Sawant a chance to represent Gujarat in all competitions after the Maharashtra-based shooter won two gold at Melbourne CWG in 2006. That didn't materialise but as fate would have it, Lajja went on to pair up with Sawant.
Based on their showing at the trials, National Rifle Association of India decided to pair them for international events.
