Most important’
Resources help, but it’s clarity and focus that make you a champion, believes Olympic silver-medallist Rajyavardhan Rathore
things that are critical for somebody to do well or keep repeating his achievement.
Can you be specific about resources?
Coaches can guide you how to win, but they cannot win it for you. You and your mind have to be ready for that moment, when you are isolated to fight through that moment and to win it. Also, if you have read the book “The Sweet Spot” by Geet Sethi, it says the love of the game is because of the sound of the ball hitting the centre of the bat when you begin playing. Or (hitting the centre) of a tennis racquet or golf club. When you hit nice and solid, the sound is so sweet you love it.
You play for that because that is your initial love. But gradually, once you are exposed to the environment, and there are various factors that start coming into your game, you get distracted from the beauty of the sport. So, my mind and shooting became extremely complicated somewhere around 2007-2008. Till 2006 it was pure, and I was winning. 2007-08 I’d probably lost that hunger to play the game for the love of it. So, that is very crucial.
It was only after 2009, I’d left my weapon for one full year, that’s when my son (Manavditya) was beginning to learn shooting and I wouldn’t even go and train him. He was shooting all alone. For his moral support, my mother used to be standing with him or my wife would be there. It came to a stage where they told me ‘what kind of father are you? Your son is trying to shoot and you are not even standing with him’. So, reluctantly I walked out and stood there. He was then eight or nine and was shooting flying target. So, when I started teaching him I brought it down to the basics. And when I did that, I realised how far I’d gone from the basics of the sport. I had made it extremely complicated. I gained, I used that info to beat him (Richard Faulds). I told him I had been reading your articles, because somewhere you will say how you are preparing. That 2002 CWG double trap final had Faulds (Olympic champion), the silver medallist (Russel Mark) and then world record holder (Michael Diamond). They were all one point behind me in the final. I could do that by learning things from my opponent.
Is starting early an advantage?
As a 16-year-old when you start, Abhinav started at 14 or 15, and that is the right age to start. Hancock started when he was say 10-years-old. When you learn from that stage, by the time you come to international level, you are seasoned. I was not seasoned; I was the guy who was thrown there by my own will, to try and achieve something for the country. It was like a mission. I used to be exposed to people humiliating Indians. ‘Indians can’t win. Olympics? Indians don’t win at Olympics,’ Things like that. I did that and it fuelled me. Abhinav has a great advantage, he is seasoned. Abhinav had mentioned somewhere that my Olympic silver made it easy for him to win gold because the belief came in. So, all that changed was the tempering of the mind. So Abhinav is much stronger than I was, many others were.