Sidhartha is aiming for the stars 

KOCHI: As the conversation progresses, it becomes clear that rather than exhaustion, it’s a tone of contentment, as months of painstaking hard work has finally paid off for this Kerala-based para shooter. The more you hear his story, the more it feels like a scene straight out of a movie.

Sidhartha has returned home just a few days ago with a bronze medal in the 50m rifle prone event at the 2021 World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Al Ain in the UAE. Earlier, he had won a gold medal and set a new record at the Kerala State Shooting Championship held in Alappuzha. He had broken his state record of 587 with a whopping 591 in the 50m rifle prone event creating history.

All this was achieved despite many hardships and hurdles created by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. “The lockdown was a very challenging phase. The shooting ranges were closed and we couldn’t go anywhere to train. For any athlete, training is crucial and sitting idle at home was not an option,” he said.

The paraplegic shooter went above and beyond to set up his own shooting range for training. While the whole nation was under lockdown, Sidhartha spent sleepless nights building a 50m-long tunnel to set up his electronic target at a secluded rented estate in the jungles of Vithura. “I decided to look for a secluded location to practise and found a nice place after a lot of research. Since I have some experience and interest in welding that helped me in setting up the range, I could train and practise my shooting without interruption,” he said.

The five-time Kerala state champion trained in an old-fashioned way when shooting ranges were slowly starting to open across other parts of the world. “It was my first individual medal at a World Cup but I’m even more proud of what I achieved at the state championship. Thankfully, now that I’m back in action, it’s all about keeping the momentum.”  Sidhartha is now focusing on the upcoming Paralympics. I feel good now since all the hard work is paying off. I’ve been so busy taking care of the smallest detail and I’m glad that the results are showing,” he added.