- By Namrata Vijay
- Fri, 08 Nov 2024 03:41 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In a year full of disappointments, Indian shooter Akhil Sheoran redeemed himself after winning the bronze medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 position category at the ISSF World Cup held last month. The other Indian shooters like Ashi Chouksey and Nischal failed to qualify for the women's 50m rifle 3 position and Olympian Rhythm Sangwan too fell short of winning a bronze medal in the shoot-off for the third position but Akhil stayed calm and won the country's second medal in the season-ending competition and a registered score of 452.6.
Akhil faced stiff challenges from China's Liu Yukun, who had won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics but finished in the fourth position in the World Cup.
Hailing from Baghpat, Akhil did qualify for the Paris Olympic quota last year at the World Championships in Baku but things didn't go in his favor as just before the Olympic selection trial he got injured and he thus lost his chance to go to Paris this year.
During the ISSF World Cup final, Akhil initially shot 589 and finished in the sixth position in the qualification round and then qualified for the eight-shooter final.
He was involved in a minor accident before the Olympic selection trials and that didn't give him enough time to prepare for the crucial exercises, which were conducted by the national federation to select the squad for the quadrennial event.
During an exclusive interview with Jagran English, Akhil opened up on his experience of participating in the ISSF World Cup, clinching the bronze medal at the final, his future goals, and his shooting journey so far:
Excerpts:
Q: What was going through your mind after you won the bronze medal at the ISSF World Cup final last month?
Akhil: Winning a medal is satisfactory. It's just that I could have changed the color of the medal but winning a medal is a reward for all the hard work that you have put in and I was preparing for this tournament for the last one and a half months and this was one competition where I hadn't won a medal yet, so it was a big moment for me. Since this was the last tournament of the year, I wanted to end it on a winning note.
Q: How has your shooting journey been till now?
Akhil: It's been a long journey. I started shooting in 2008 when I was in school, and then in 2012, I was part of the junior team. Thankfully, I had a personal coach who backed me and helped me throughout my journey. There were times during my undergraduate when I focussed on my exams and had to sideline shooting. I did win a few medals at the Asian Games as well. So there were a few challenges that I faced while balancing both shooting and my studies. I had been participating in senior tournaments since 2016 and I was inducted into the TOPS in 2018, which helped me with my shooting equipment.
Q: What makes rifle 3 position shooting challenging?
Akhil: Yeah this category has three positions and since it's usually windy outside, which affects the bullet, so you have to set your aim accordingly. You have to perform well in all three positions and only then you be able to qualify for the finals. While competing in summer, you are wearing your jacket and trousers and because of that, you sweat a lot. The financial aspect is also one of the main challenges in this category.
Q: What's your take on Manu Bhaker, Swapnil Kusale, and Sarobjit Singh delivering three medals at the Paris Olympics 2024? Do you see the sport growing in the country more now?
Akhil: Yeah. It is a very proud moment for us and especially I will say our youth will get inspired by this. It's an achievable thing, if they can do it, so can the rest. The credit for this achievement also goes to the Sports Authority of India, whose different schemes helped them clinch those medals. They have painted a good picture of this sport at the global level.
Q: How do you think rifle shooting has improved over the years?
Akhil: Rifle shooting has improved a lot. Earlier Gagan Narang had won the bronze medal and then Abhinav Bindra won gold at the Olympics and then Arjun Babuta finished in fourth position this year and then Swapnil won a bronze medal in the 50m rifle, something which the Indian shooters had never done before, so all this is an improvement in itself. And I hope that the color of this medal will change in the next Olympics. We do have a lot of potential and our shooters will work hard more in the next Olympics.