The last three editions of the Olympics have seen India gradually raise the bar in shooting in terms of putting in commendable performances in front of a galaxy of international stars. It started with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore clinching the country's first ever shooting medal, clinching the silver in the Double Trap event in Athens in 2004.
In 2008, a dream of not just a shooter, but that of a billion was fulfilled when Abhinav Bindra fired his way to Gold at the Beijing Olympics in the 10m Air Rifle event. It was perhaps the moment that awakened a nation full of not just budding shooters, but also athletes and gave them a reason to dream big and achieve that dream.
Heading into the 2012 Olympics, there was much expectation from our shooters and they exceeded those expectations and how. Not one, but two medals came India’s way courtesy Gagan Narang, who won the bronze in the 10m Air Rifle event and Vijay Kumar, who won the silver in the 25m Air Pistol event.
The last three years, since the London Summer Games have seen Indian shooters put in excellent performances on the international circuit and interestingly, it hasn‘t just been the men who have performed well.
In 22-year-old Apurvi Chandela, India seems to have found a fine talent who in her short career has already impressed many an experienced player with her ability to strike big on the international circuit.
She first made news in the year 2011, when she made the cut to the national junior team and finished ninth in the Asian Championships with a score of 391. Her first big moment in the sport arrived in 2012 when she won her maiden National Championships and clinched the bronze medal in the same event a year later in 2013, before winning it again in 2014.
But her real moment of reckoning arrived in 2014, when amongst a strong field, she won the Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to well-and-truly announce herself on the global stage.
That was the start of a wonderful run for the Indian, who then sealed a berth for Rio 2016, by winning the bronze at the 2015 Changwon World Cup and then a few months later clinched the silver at the Munich World Cup Finals.
The revival of women’s shooting
The emergence of Chandela has revived the rich tradition of Indian women shooting, which has had the likes of Anjali Bhagwat, who became the first Indian to be ranked number one in the world, Suma Shirur, who shot a World Record 400 at the Asian Championships and Deepali Deshpande, who won the silver at the Asian Shooting Championships and was subsequently picked for the 2004 Olympics.
In a recent interview to Sportskeeda, Gagan Narang termed Chandela as a very bright prospect, Bindra has said that it would benefit her if she went into Rio with a clear mind.
“She is a very bright prospect. Everyone who qualifies has a chance to win a medal. But what remains to be seen is, if her mind and body are in sync on the day of the competition,” Narang said about the youngster.
”For the first Games, it is better to go with a clear mind and not think about it too much. That is the best way to succeed in the first Olympics,” Bindra said.
With regards to women’s shooting itself, it remains to be seen if Chandela can go that one step further of the likes of Bhagwat. Whether she can stand on the podium in Rio and most importantly, whether she can give a billion another opportunity to dream again.
