No Country for Merit: National Level Shooter Sells Noodles Now

Pushpa Gupta, a 21-year-old national-level shooter in Gujarat, sells noodles from a cart in order to earn a living.

Pushpa Gupta talks about her dismal situation. (Photo: ANI)

Here is yet another story that proves that unless you happen to be on the men’s cricket team in India, the country couldn’t care less about you.

A severe lack of funding has forced Pushpa Gupta, a 21-year-old national-level shooter from Vadodara, Gujarat, to leave the ‘expensive’ sport and sell noodles from a cart in order to earn a living and support her family. The shiny medal that hangs from her cart, a way to attract the attention of potential customers, encapsulates the pathetic manner in which merit is rewarded in the country.

Talking to ANI about her situation, Pushpa said,

I had joined college in 2013 and it was there that I discovered that I have skills in shooting. I joined the National Cadet Corps (NCC) and it supported me financially. I represented Gujarat in the sport as well. Then I started getting interest in the sport.

It has been a year and a half since Pushpa handled a rifle. (Photo: iStockphoto)

Pushpa was unable to continue with the sport after NCC as it was too expensive and the financial aid from the military organisation also ended.

After support from the NCC ended, my father told me to discontinue with the sport and start some business in order to earn living. Since then we have been selling noodles on this lorry and now it has over been one year.

Her father, Dinesh Kumar Gupta, expressed dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that for all his talk about empowering women, there was no concrete action being taken. 

Presently, we have a woman MP in the area we are living in. The Chief Minister of the state is also a woman. If we would have received anything from the sports authority or from the government, then she would not be selling noodles on the streets and would have brought honour for the nation in the field of sports.

Dinesh Kumar Gupta to <i>ANI</i>