Shooting to glory

Marksman C. Sam George Sajan’s schedule is packed. He has just returned from the International Shooting Sport Federation’s Junior World Cup in Sydney and is now busy preparing for the selection trials in Delhi this week to qualify for the championship in Germany and Czech Republic in June and July.

Sajan finished sixth with the score of 402.5 in the summit and 1140 in the 50m Rifle three positions qualifying event of the world cup. His feat is remarkable considering the fact that it is his first international event. Prior to this, he has won countless state and national medals and at present holds the No.2 in the country.

Right from the day he picked the weapon, Sajan has been bang on target. Hailing from an Army family, Sajan’s interest in shooting evolved naturally. He is the fourth generation shooter in his family. During his childhood, he was, however, attracted to hockey and skating, whic died a premature death following a freak accident when he was in seventh grade. “Since doctors advised me against any sport, my father suggested shooting,” he says.

As the sport demands lot of physical and mental fitness, Sajan trains for hours playing badminton with his friends. He also reads a lot for better concentration. “And I regularly visit Madurai Rifle Club for practice,” he says.

His father Christopher Ramesh, NCC Officer and fitness freak used to take young Sajan to the ground. “I got him toy guns and taught him basic shooting skills, such as how to hold, aim and pull the trigger. Then I took him to my routine drills in college where I taught him to load and unload ammunition in the weapon,” says Ramesh who works as Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Government Arts College, Melur.

Summer camp organised by the Madurai Rifle Club in 2012 was the turning point for Sajan. “I just got him enrolled as a member of the club and put him in the summer camp to get a feel of the game. But his unbound enthusiasm caught the attention of seasoned shooters in the club and they took him for intensive training,” says Ramesh.

The same year, Sajan stunned everyone by erasing the 10-year-old State record in the open sight Air Rifle three positions event. He won both junior and men titles. His State record is yet to be broken. Later, he won bronze in the all India G.V. Mavlankar Shooting Championships. In 2013 Sajan shifted from open sight to peep sight rifle to prepare for harder battles ahead.

It took him three years to make a mark at the national level with the peep sight rifle. He set a new national record by scoring 1157 points erasing the existing record of 1151 set by Subhankar Pramanick of Madhya Pradesh at this year’s national selection trials in Delhi. His consistent performance won him all India second rank.

“It is a proud moment for the Madurai Rifle Club as another shooter B. Mithilesh closely followed Sajan and he is No.3 in the country in the event. Of the three qualified to represent the country for the Sydney event, two were from Madurai,” beams S. Vel Shankar, secretary, Madurai Rifle Club.

A national shooter himself, Vel Shankar trains the players and has worked hard to get all necessary infrastructure for his students. “We have fixed electronic targets so that shooters can correct even the minor errors. Already our boys and girls are showing tremendous improvement,” says Vel Shankar, who is a certified coach of the International Shooting Sports Federation.

Unlike other categories in shooting, where shooters contest in controlled environment, 50m Rifle three positions is challenging as the event takes place in open air where shooters should have tremendous physical and mental fitness to overcome weather extremities and perform at their best. With packed international calendar, Madurai shooters should hopefully bring more laurels to the city.