An Interview with Junior Ace Shooter Apurvi Chandela : 'Winning Nationals was a dream come true'

Apurvi Chandela is an up and coming Ace Shooter from India. She won the Women’s Rifle Gold in the Sahara Nationals last year. She has various International Medals in her kitty as well. Now, she believes that the time is right for her to make an impact on the senior circuit. Following are the excerpts from the interview:

What made you take up shooting as a career?

I have always been a sports lover and seeing Abhinav Bindra win a gold at the Beijing Olympics inspired me. It made me take up shooting. Along with that, I hail from a sports loving family, most of them being basketball players, which has encouraged me at every point.

With Bindra, Vijay Kumar doing so well in the Olympics, do you think more Indians will take up shooting as a career?

Yes, I believe so, with me being an example for the same. Over the years, the number of shooters participating in the Nationals have increased with school students taking up shooting as a sport and later on, as a career. The medals at the Olympics have raised the awareness of the sport in the country.

Shagun Chaudhary became the first trap shooter from Jaipur to represent India at London Olympics and now you are on your way to the top, being from the same city. Does Jaipur provide you with the best shooting facilities?

There are shooting ranges in Jaipur where shooters go and train. Even I trained at the SMS Stadium Shooting range at the start of my shooting career but later my uncle Mr. Hem Singh, opened a range for me in his house for my training. Therefore, I haven’t availed the facilities provided here in Jaipur.

How can one raise the popularity of Shooting in India?

Shooting is a sport which has come into awareness due to the Olympic medals being won by shooters, and as we have seen, the maximum number of medals for India come from this sport. Yet, there hasn’t been enough justice on the part of coverage. Nowadays, all the limelight is given to Cricket and no other sport gets the same amount of popularization. If more attention is given, there will be more sponsors for sure which will ultimately encourage more shooters and popularize shooting even more.

With shooting becoming a major Olympic sport for India in terms of winning medals, what is the competition like for you to book a spot in the Indian team?

The competition is tough, specially due to the number of shooters increasing in this particular event of 10m Air Rifle Shooting. The ability and standards of this sport have gone high too.

Who has been your inspiration?

My family has been my inspiration

Which other sports do you follow?

Cricket and Soccer

You finished 27th in the qualification at the ISSF World championship in Munich. Did something go wrong?

I was at the World Cup in Munich, where I felt the surface was slippery, so I changed my position a bit to control the rest of the match.

You won Women’s Air Rifle Gold at the Nationals last year. How was the transition from a junior to a senior category?

It was a pleasure to fulfill a life-long dream. It feels good to take a step ahead in my venture and it has given me more confidence and belief in myself.

What goals have you set for yourself this year?

My goal for this year is to adapt to the new scoring system brought by the ISSF and train well on all the aspects for next year, where we have the World Championship and Commonwealth Games.

How important is fitness to you?

Fitness, for me, is extremely important and this sport requires it as well. Exercising for different muscles, most importantly the back is necessary.

With so much travelling and shooting, how much time are you able to give to your studies?

It is difficult for me to cope up with my studies. I have cleared my first year but wasn’t able to give the 2nd and 3rd year examinations as they clashed with the World Cup, but my college supports me and will be conducting my exams once I have some time in between competitions.