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With less than a year to go for the 2016 Rio Olympics, India’s ace marksman Gagan Narang seems to have rediscovered his lost form, after climbing to the Asia number 1 spot in the Men’s 50m prone category. The 32-year old currently leads the continental table with 971 points, ahead of China’s Shengbo Zhao.
Narang has already booked a spot at next year’s Olympics, by winning a bronze medal at the ISSF 50m prone rifle event in Fort Benning this May. However, a series of injuries at the beginning of this season saw Narang excluded from the 10m air rifle Indian contingent for the first three world cups, by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). He failed to reach the minimum qualification to seal spot within the team.
But as they famous saying goes, ‘form is temporary and class is permanent,’ the Hyderabad-based shooter fought back in style by qualifying for the final round in Fort Benning. He would go onto jump from the eighth to third position with a consistent display of accuracy. He ensured India secured their third shooting birth, after Abhinav Bindra and Jitu Rai by shooting an 185.8.
With form now on his side, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist has his sights on gold at Rio. He spoke to Sportskeeda in an exclusive interview via mail about his Olympic dream, lack of accessibility to take up shooting as a sport in India and various facets of his game.
Q. How does it feel to reach the Asia number one position and of course, to qualify for the Rio Olympics?
A: It gives one satisfaction to see that good work is reflected in the rankings at the end of the day. The aim, of course, would be to get to World No.1 yet again, and not just stop at this. The qualification came in good time. It gave me good one year to plan and prepare. Right now I am following the roadmap that is prepared by my coach. The earlier the qualification, greater the time to prepare. So in that sense I am lucky. But now I have to shoot well at the NRAI conducted selection trials to retain my place in the Olympics team.
Q. How do you assess your chances of winning back to back Olympic medals and what preparations have you planned?
Every sportsperson goes there to win a medal. And each time one is wiser with a bucketful of experience from the past. So hard-work, mind, body, luck have to be in sync when one shoots the match. Preparation is the means to the end, but the end depends on factors, some of which are controllable and others uncontrollable. While we can never lose sight of the end, thinking of the end alone could be a reason for distraction. So for an athlete like me, the critical thing is to balance reality with aspirations.
Q. Since the 2006 Commonwealth Games, you have consistently captured the gold medal at the event, however, last year you couldn't match your performances as compared to the previous editions. Do you think you had a dip in form then?
Even when the form-book does not say, the record books will that I was the only Indian athlete to return with two medals from the Glasgow games in 2014. I have struggled in Air Rifle because of a spate of injuries, but I have produced decent results in prone and three position. And if you are to say that I couldn't match my past performances then the rankings would be misleading.
Q. It is a known fact that shooting is an expensive sport. Do you think there is enough funding for budding shooters to take up the sport?
That is a massive challenge. As a shooter, I do my bit by giving back to the sport. Which is why I set up the Gun for Glory academy. We try to subsidise things so that kids who take a liking for it can take it beyond a hobby. However, there needs to be a larger, concerted effort to reach out to the masses. The cost factor massively comes in the way of people pursuing the sport full time.
Q. The 50m prone 3 position seems to be your current favourite. You already have a gold at the Asian Games, CWG, are you confident of replicating that form in the 10m event?
Actually my bread and butter event is the 10-m Air Rifle. And I am still trying to get my form back in the event. That is the event I won my Olympic medal in. Prone and three positions are my options. However, over the years I have enhanced my skill in those two and even won medals. I am happy that I have been able to do because that gives me a chance to win more than one medal in the big competitions.
Q, You have been a part of Indian shooting for quite a while now, How do you think it's changed since you first started shooting competitively?
The scene has drastically changed. No one would talk about shooting. No parent would encourage their ward to become a full-time shooter. However buoyed by Abhinav's(Bindra) gold, (Rajyavardhan Singh)Rathore's, Vijay's(Kumar) silver and my bronze there has been a surge in the number of followers. The competitors in the nationals have also swelled by manifold. There are more people, fighting tooth and nail for a position in the national team. I have no qualms in saying that the quality of shooters has also got better.
Q. Did you ever face any financial barriers in your career as shooting equipment had to be imported when you started off?
My parents were working class. It wasn't easy for them to support me. They made big sacrifices like selling a plot of land in Hyderabad, which would have been in crores now, to buy me my first gun. And there have been so many along the way. My first big support came from AIR INDIA. Then the Olympic Gold Quest came along the way. I was lucky that these people have rallied around me and equally lucky that my form did not desert me over a long period. I was able to keep up the tempo and motivation.
Q. Apurvi Chandela has been setting the Women's shooting circuit alight with her performances. What do you think about her chances at the Olympics?
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.
Q. Do you think there have been enough sponsorships for shooters so far, considering the medals they have garnered for the country?
Leave alone sponsorship for shooters, even the Federation is struggling to get funders. We are largely dependent on the Government for funds. It would help the sport a great deal if kind souls came forward to meet the gap between the government funding and actual training needs of the shooters. We have good results despite having less or no sponsors for the sport. Imagine how many medals we could win if we have a fraction of the sponsors which other popular sport has.
Q. What is your target for the calendar year 2015?
My target primarily is to get back to form in the 10-m Air Rifle, also iron out the chinks in my armour as far as prone and three position are concerned and be Olympic-ready.
