He’s better than the best, he’s our special talent

Naresh Sharma has never walked without crutches — he had polio when six months old. In spite of his 86 per cent disability rating, he has managed to shoot better than India’s best this year — even better than rifle World Cup gold-medallist Gagan Narang.

The 35-year-old Delhi marksman has just returned from a European stint with a gold and a silver, and a phenomenal score. “I shot a 594/600 in the rifle prone category at the Shooting Grand Prix in the 13th Hessian Grand Prix in Badorb, Germany, to clinch gold,” Sharma told HT. That is five points better than the best score by any Indian in the three World Cups this year in the prone category. “If he keeps shooting consistently well, he should be in the national squad,” said national coach Sunny Thomas.

Last year, Sharma lost his job with the AAI when it terminated 138 ad hoc appointments. But he has put that behind him. “I’m just going to shoot better and make people sit up and take notice,” he said. The performance in Europe this month was just a start.

Email author: ajaimasand@gmail.com