``I want to win a gold medal now,'' said Manoj with an air of confidence. The young grappler is one of the probables selected for the national camp in preparation for the Asian Games. The camp would begin in the last week of September at Patiala.

Manoj, who is based in Bhiwani, was here at a felicitation ceremony organised by the Kartar Singh Wrestling Club. He was given a cash award of Rs 11,000. Manoj, who narrowly missed a gold on points to his opponent from Iran, is now looking ahead and is placing more emphasis on the technical aspect of his training leading upto Asian Games.

``Had I been more sound technically, I would have got a gold medal for my country,'' recalls Manoj. However, he feels that in the national camp, he would be able to improve upon his technical flaws and would be ready to face any challenge from other wrestling dominating countries like Iran and Mongolia.

``We (wrestlers) should be given more exposure at the international level,'' felt Manoj, who recently joined the Northern Railway as a Ticket Collector.

The grappler had also won a a bronze medal in the 52 kg category in the Junior Asian Wrestling Championship held recently at Almati (Kazakistan).