India’s chief pistol coach Syed Wajid Ali took his last breath on Monday evening after he suffered a severe heart attack in Pune's Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex. The 59-year-old , who had earlier complained of heartache in the morning, suffered the attack around 8pm in the shooting range and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, where the doctors declared him dead at around 9pm.
Wajid Ali was in Pune for the ongoing 60th National Shooting Championships. Ali was present as a chief range officer and was scheduled to conduct the championship. Wajid has been present in the shooting circuit for the past 25 years, first as a shooter himself and then as an official.
Shooter Ronak Pandit was at the shooting range when Wajid Ali had the attack. Ronak said in an interview with TOI, "I was packing my gun bag when a fellow shooter shouted and called me at the range. I saw Wajid sir lying unconscious on the chair. We didn't waste any time and took him to the nearest hospital. We reached there within 20 minutes, but he could not be saved."
Wajid sir, as he was referred to by the shooters, was a respectable figure in the shooting fraternity, and an immense workaholic, according to pistol shooter, PN Prakash. The shooter said, “It is a big loss for all of us. He was straightforward and a jovial person. We will all miss him."
Secretary of The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) Rajeev Bhatia mourned his sad demise as he said, “It is very unfortunate to lose a great human being. Minutes before he died, we were discussing plans for the next year. He was an efficient man and knew things that he can do. He never minced words in expressing his views. It is a great loss to the fraternity."
Shooter Gurpreet Singh also stated that Wajid was the best person at the range. "He knew the rules very well. He was the person who would take on the spot calls during any crisis at the range. He was confident of his knowledge and a master at conducting matches. He will be missed not only for his knowledge but also for the person he was," said Gurpreet.
