CWG medallist Manu Bhaker dismisses controversy: I sat on the ground by choice

Manu Bhaker

Indian shooter Manu Bhaker, who clinched gold at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games, on Wednesday rebuffed reports that she was insulted during a felicitation ceremony held in her village. A picture showing 16-year-old Bhaker sitting on the floor during a felicitation in Charkhi Dadri went viral on Monday. Soon after, reports emerged that the young shooter was subjected to insult and made to sit on the floor once the VVIPs arrived.

However, Bhaker has clarified that she chose to sit on the ground as there were elders present at the event. "During the felicitation ceremony I sat on ground on my own. There was space but I preferred to sit on ground as few elders present at the event," Bhaker said.

The ceremony was conducted to honour medal winners at the CWG 2018 from Haryana. After winning gold medals at the ISSF World Cup, the pistol shooter claimed yet another Gold in the women's 10m Air Pistol event at the prestigious Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Gold Coast, Australia.

Recently, Haryana Government announced that the state would give a prize of Rs 1.5 crore to gold medal winners from Haryana. While every silver medallist will get Rs 75 lakh, the bronze medal winners will be given a cash award of Rs 50 lakh.