Shooting champion Neha Tomar to contest UP Panchayat polls from Muzaffarnagar

Muzaffarnagar: From the hall of fame to the dust and grime of the Panchayat elections -- she has come a long way.

Neha Tomar, the 21-year-old shooter, who has represented the country in several international events and clinched a silver medal in junior shooting world championship held in Germany two years ago, is now trying her luck in the Panchayat elections.

Neha has filed nomination papers for the post of village head in the Makhiyaali village of Muzaffarnagar.

"I want development in my village. And I also want to promote sports among the youths of my region. The post of village head will empower me to do a lot of things," said Neha, who had also won a team gold in the 50m free pistol category in the world shooting event in 2018.

Neha had won a silver medal in Asian air gun Championship held in Kuwait in the same year.

"If I win, I will try to build a small stadium and an inter college in my area. A large number of girls and women from my village go for work in cloth factories miles away from here. I want to set a training centre and workplace for such women and girls," she said.

A stadium and a college in the village will help youths take up sports. It will also help them in getting government jobs, she added.

Neha is presently pursuing graduation from the DAV College in Muzaffarnagar.

The village`s pradhan seat is reserved for OBC women candidates.

Her mother, Renu Chaudhary, said, "I wanted to contest this election. But when we saw her affection towards the villagers, we decided that Neha should contest the Panchayat elections. She wants to do something for the youths and women of this village.