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17 year old Aqilah Binte Sudhir from Singapore was the 1st person to strike Gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games 2008 held at Pune. In an exclusive interview with TheSportsCampus.com moments after winning the Gold medal in the Women's 10m Air Rifle, Aqilah spoke about her love for the intensity of the sport and the way it tests her ability to deliver under pressure of all sorts. Aqilah, who has been training feverishly since 2005, attributed her performance to the 2 hours of daily shooting practice and additional couple of hours of physical training she does every single day.

Also keen on participating in the 50m Prone and 50m 3 Position events, Aqilah has previously participated in the Asian shooting championship in Kuwait where she finished 7th and at the National Technological University Shoot in Singapore where she came in 1st. Asked if winning the Gold had changed anything, she replied that it is a personal achievement and nothing had really changed.

About the mental side of her preparation, Aqilah replied that in shooting, it's very import ant to be mentally aware of what you are doing. She came to the event with no expectations, but was prepared to adapt to the conditions fast and knowing that she would do her best.

She has a very supportive family, even though her sporting activities means her being away for a long time, she and her family hope that she can make the big leap from a promising junior to being able to pursue the sport professionally. She though really wishes she could bring her family with her when she's on tour.

She is now looking ahead to make it to the South East Asian Games in Dec 2009, then the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, followed by the Asian Games - "Basically anything that will bring me closer to my dream of competing in the Olympics", she says with a smile.

We wish her every success!

Favourites:

TSC: Movie?

Aquilah: The Notebook, Freedom Writers

TSC: Other sports?

Aquilah: Tennis, Badminton

TSC: Books?

Aquilah: Kite Runner, My sister's keeper

TSC: Computer Games?

Aquilah: Diner Dash!

TSC: Gizmo?

Aquilah: I-pod

TSC: Subject?

Aquilah: Mathematics!