Memory shot

She has now joined an illustrious list of Anjali Vedpathak,world record holder Suma Shirur and Deepali Deshpande,all proficient 10 m air rifle shooters from the city,when she scored a gold in this year’s most precision perfect range sport. The event is prestigious in shooting now,considering it has also given India its first-ever individual Olympic gold medal.

Khamkar still recalls the nights,over two decades ago,when her father — an operator at Glasgow factory — would come home tired,but still with “enough enthusiasm” to share the sounds made by air rifles at the neighbouring practice range at Worli. “His narrative still runs in my head… Then there were these medals that were kept in the cupboard that belonged to my grandfather for his athletic deeds in the Army.”

These inspirations finally found her joining the National Cadet Corps (NCC),where she found her calling in a familiar sport — shooting. What started as practice in the .22 (open sight) rifle in the prone position category during her NCC days soon became an ambition. Sanjay Chakravarty,her coach for the past 10 years,says her efforts need to be applauded. “For a sport like this,one needs a good financial backing. If she has moved ahead,it’s only because of her will. The department should at least now support her in purchasing a good weapon as she is soon going to be part of the Indian Police team,which will go for international police shooting events.”

Khamkar too reminisces those early policing days when her will was put to test. Assistant commissioner of police Javed Shaikh,who has regularly seen police constable entrants taking the easier route of sports quota to gain recruitment and now supervises the force’s quick response team,remembers making her undergo strenuous tests. She had impressed him,be it those painful laps across the range or the heavy duty sports activity. “She convinced me that she was here for the love of sports; also could be relied on as a good cop,”

Those strenuous training days proved helpful as she kept gaining medals in police games and getting promoted in various designations and departments. The gold medal this time is special,considering that she beat heavyweights from places like Border Security Force and Central Industrial Security Force. Khamkar spends her days now doing regular policing and training colleagues who have a love for the weapon,with evenings reserved for practice at the range. “The sound on the target board is the same,just the way my father described. I do go to Worli shooting range at times to practise and train new entrants.”