Women shooters in Maharashtra have shot down gold medals in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, the Olympics is next.
In fact, the argument is now strongly in favour of women shooters being the medal haulers India can look forward to.In particular, these women shooters hail from Kolhapur and train in Pune. That apart, as the new dawn for Indian shooting emerges, Sheila Kanungo, general secretary, Maharashtra Rifle Association, believes the sport itself lends to women easily bettering the men.
On women shooters in the country, Kanungo says: “I think women are naturally great shooters. Shooting is a skill and I think women are very good and skilled at it, and in fact, have an advantage over the men. In pistol shooting, there is some weightage to strength, but in rifle shooting, when the strength aspect is taken away, you see our women shooting better than the men. It is primarily a skill sport. Just because it happens to involve guns everyone thinks it is a manly sport, but I think it is an ideal sport for women.”
The women shooters themselves attribute amazing family support that allows them to achieve international glory.
Rahi Sarnobat, India’s Asian Games shooting gold medallist at Indonesia, hails from Kolhapur, but trained in Pune.
{{/usCountry}}Rahi Sarnobat, India’s Asian Games shooting gold medallist at Indonesia, hails from Kolhapur, but trained in Pune.
{{/usCountry}}With a score of 34 in the 25m pistol final, the 28-year-old explains her journey to the summit of shooting on the continental stage. “I always had a liking for shooting so after my Class 10 boards I told my parents that I want to pursue shooting. They told me to do Science and that I wouldn’t be able to handle the two things at the same time, but I was pretty stubborn about doing Arts. We found a middle ground where they agreed to let me do Commerce and continue with my shooting.”
Being born and brought up in Kolhapur, moving to Pune was undoubtedly a tough decision the Asian Games gold medallist had to make, but in hindsight one that proved to be a winner.
Sarnobat’s mother, Prabha Sarnobat adds: “She’s had a fondness towards shooting ever since she was a kid, but after her Class 10 is when she started pursuing the sport seriously. She managed her academics and her shooting perfectly and was backed a lot by the officials in Kolhapur. Six years ago we left Kolhapur to come and stay with her in Pune and have been here ever since. Now she aims to win an Olympic gold and we’re here to give her the motivation to do exactly that.”
Pune girl Abhidnya Patil did the country proud at last month’s ISSF World Championships in Changwon, South Korea, after returning home with a bronze medal in the mixed team event of the 10m air pistol. The SYBA student from Bhartiya Vidyapeeth shares what piqued her interest in shooting and at what point she decided to make it a career.
“Ever since I was a kid, I liked guns and used to play with a lot of toy guns. Even when we went for any fairs, I used to always participate in gun-related games. So, my parents saw that I was interested in shooting and they bought a second-hand gun for me. In my first open state tournament I got a bronze and that’s when I started to realise there’s a talent in me and I want to make a career in shooting,” Patil says.
She believes she has her parents to thank for her successes.
“My parents have been extremely supportive of my decision. It was important for them that I continued studying along with my shooting and now I’m in my second year, a year away from graduating. I don’t think it affects my academics as I’ve allotted certain hours for my training, so I believe it is possible to find the right balance,” says the 19-year-old.
While Sarnobat is currently at the peak of her powers, there are several younger women in the city waiting to make their mark on the national stage. Anushka Patil (10m air pistol), a 15-year-old from Kolhapur, already has two international gold medals under her belt and is showing no signs of slowing down.
Patil says, “I was a yoga state champion in the past for two years. So my sports teacher in school saw that my levels of concentration were high and told me to take up shooting.”
Sarnobat gives a brief insight as to what every aspiring shooter needs to be prepared for before embarking on the career path. It all starts with deciding whether to opt for a pistol or a rifle and then to choose from the various categories that are available in either of the two variants.
“While picking between pistol and rifle, it’s nothing to do with talent, but what you like and feel comfortable holding. However, these days with the number of clubs and schools offering shooting options, it is very easy to begin with 10m and the weapons are also easily available now, which wasn’t the case when I started off,” she adds.