Despite cash crunch 'Deputy Collector' Rahi goes on leave without pay for Tokyo Olympics

Rahi Sarnobat, India's first female shooter to win an Asian Games gold, still has "nightmares" about her financial security despite competing at the highest level for more than a decade.

The 28-year-old pistol shooter from Maharashtra's Kohlapur feels that she should have been financially sound after "all these years of hardwork" but apparently she is not.

The Asian Games gold got her a total cash reward of Rs 70 lakh (Rs 50 lakh from Maharashtra government and Rs 20 lakh from Sports Ministry) but such are the expenses of a top-level shooter, Rahi ended up giving a chunk of that award money to her personal coach Munkhbayar Dorjsuren, a former Olympic medallist and world champion from Mongolia. Dorjsuren is now a German citizen.

Rahi is supported by Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) and is also employed as a deputy collector in her state's revenue department, but she has gone without pay from September, 2017, due to her sporting commitments.

"I feel I don't have more than four years left as a professional shooter and after 12 years of competing for India, I still have sleepless nights about my financial situation," the soft spoken Rahi told PTI.

She doesn't know for how long she is going to keep paying Dorjsuren out of her own pocket (approximately Rs 50 lakh per year) but remains fully committed to her sport and will not compromise on training one bit ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"I have taken leave without pay from the state revenue department. Anyway, I have not been paid since September 2017. I thought of going to Mumbai and talk to my employers but it is very hard to find time as a professional shooter