Burnout and constant changes in rules hurting Indian shooters
NEWDELHI: From becoming India’s first woman World No 1 in pistol shooting to giving a glamorous feel to the sport, Heena Sidhu is a trendsetter. A fruitful year behind her, the shooter is looking forward to qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and feels shooters are being overburdened with a surfeit of national camps. She spoke at length at the HT Leadership Summit.
Excerpts
Did shooting come naturally to you?
My father played just one Nationals and that too just for the sake of participation. But as a family, we have always been passionate about guns, about shooting. We lived in a joint family, so as a child I always had guns around me. That’s how I harboured this passion for guns, not so much that I would one day make a career out of it. When I started shooting I didn’t have this thing in mind that I would one day compete at the Olympics. It was a hobby; I wanted to enjoy the sport. It was only later that my love for the sport slowly transformed into competitive shooting.
Why did you pick air pistol?
When I started shooting I told my father I wanted to be a big gun shooter. He also said okay. My first choice was the rifle. But it looked very technical with all the cumbersome contraptions; the eye piece, the heavy jackets, stiff trousers, heavy shoes. I didn’t like the idea of carrying so much. I felt completely out of my comfort. My father then said try air pistol for one year. Given my shifting passion, my father was sceptical how long I’ll retain my interest in air pistol.
Indian shooters disappointed at 2016 Rio Olympics...
Well, I don’t think so. Mairaj Ahmed made it to the skeet final, Gurpeet Singh missed the finals by a whisker, Abhinav Bindra was also in the final. So, if you look at the overall scene, 4- 5 of the 12-member shooting contingent did well. My performance, though, was not that great... I admit it. Apart from preparations, a lot of luck is also required. We didn’t come back with a medal but we could have. Abhinav’s performance was as good as winning a medal; we should give him a medal in our hearts.
Given the fact that the shooting federation, the government and the ministry were not too happy with our Rio showing, we hope to do much better in Tokyo. I can see a perceptible change. Still, no one can predict a medal at the Games but 2020 will be much better.
The world shooting body has been changing formats far too frequently...
In 2017, they came up with the mixed team event (for gender parity). In 2018, they increased the number of shots in qualification from 40 to 60. It is not good because they don’t give you time to adjust. At least have a constant rule for one Olympic cycle. That is also too quick, but please don’t change the rule every year.
Pistol coach Jaspal Rana has been talking about burnout...
Yes, I agree. The burnout is not so much because of the number of competitions. Juniors like Manu Bhaker have to compete in both junior and senior categories which makes life tougher for them. But we are getting more of these burnouts because of constant camps. We are having month-long camps in the lead up to every competition. We don’t want such camps. We want camps that are crisp, shorter in duration. Or, sometimes they may be made optional. Suppose someone has been competing for six months, he definitely deserves a break and for such shooters a camp should be optional. Just give me that sense of comfort in my life.
There is controversy around Arjuna Awards every year...
I have also suffered. I got my Arjuna a year late. I got it in 2014 whereas I should have got it in 2013. Raj Kumari got it in 2013 on the basis of an Asian Championship gold in a non-Olympic sport. I had the CWG and Asian Games medals... I had a World Cup gold. The system needs to be streamlined.