Indian shooting talents unleashed after long wait in World Cup

CHENNAI: “It was well past 1 am. I was so excited I couldn’t sleep after that.” Olympian Deepali Deshpande couldn’t quite contain her excitement during the wee hours of Sunday after rifle shooter Akhil Sheoran’s gold medal effort in the Mexico World Cup.

“Anjum Moudgil (who won a silver medal on Friday), her graph had been gradual. She rose to where she is right now. Whereas Akhil is an extraordinary talent and a very hard working shooter too. But in spite of that, the expected output was not coming. And it becomes very tough for the coach to keep the shooter motivated if the results continue to elude him/her. So when he won it, it was a big relief. We had expected this for a long time,” the national junior rifle coach, who has guided Akhil, said.

For Akhil, who shot 455.6 in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions final, it did not matter it had taken this long. He was just upbeat and ready to put his head down and win more medals in the future. “I’m happy with this performance. I have worked very hard to reach here. I would want to keep up this performance in the days to come.” In tough conditions, Akhil beat a strong field that included Hungarian legend Peter Sidi, Rio Olympic bronze medallist Alexis Reynauld of France and senior counterpart Sanjeev Rajput in Guadalajara. This was India’s fourth gold medal of the World Cup.

Son of a farmer and a mother, who is a housewife, it was given that he would have to make every chance count to attract the vital support to further his dreams, which was fuelled after Abhinav Bindra won a historic gold during the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“Our school had shooting as an extra-curricular activity. So I did start the sport quite early and I was using the school equipment until my father got me my first rifle in 2011. The very next year I won my first medal. I have been supported by the Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ) since 2012. They have ensured that I have everything that I need and that has been a massive help.”

Hailing from a tiny village in Baraut (Uttar Pradesh), Akhil truly has come a long way. Off the shooting range, he recently completed his MBA and is on the lookout for a job, even though shooting remains his first priority. “It is important to have a secure job. I love shooting and will continue to shoot and give my best for the country,” he said, a telltale sign that he has a firm head on his shoulders.

In the national setup since 2012, he had shown promise in the past winning medals at the junior level. But it was his near-miss during the Rio Olympic qualifiers that made him mull hard and chart out a more productive timetable.

“Missing out on a quota (Rio Olympics) was a big setback. Given that I was fully into seniors, I had to step up and had to make some serious decisions. I starting following some experimental videos and worked on my technique,” the 22-year-old said.

Akhil’s next target is the World University Championship to be held in Malaysia, where he is the defending champ. “I’m determined to retain the title there.”  In the future, he wants to emulate Bindra’s feat at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Manu fifth

Manu Bhaker ended her run at the ISSF World Cup with her third final appearance in as many events, eventually settling for fifth place in the women’s 25m pistol on Saturday, to go with her two gold medals in the women’s 10m pistol and the 10m pistol mixed team event. Manu qualified for the final with a score of 581, which gave her fifth spot.

anmol@newindianexpress.com