Right on target

Gagan Narang’s parents,for instance,had to sell a plot to help their son acquire his first rifle. “It was a massive risk for them,” says Narang. “At that time,we had no idea how good I might become.”

It was to ensure that upcoming shooters didn’t have to make — or worse,not make — similar decisions that Narang set upon the idea. In May,the Gun for Glory Academy began operations at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi. “We are not going it alone or going against the system… We’re working with the system,and trying to give it a push. That’s why we didn’t ask for land of our own,and instead chose to use the facilities we already have.”

The biggest impact that the academy will have is on how much shooters will have to spend for training. “Earlier,most shooters had to go abroad to train. For around 15 days,it costs around Rs 7 lakh. In that,you’ll only get basic training — no mental training,no dietician,physio or fitness trainer,” says academy director and Indian shooting team assistant coach Pawan Singh. “We have all that in our academy,and take Rs 4,80,000 a year. This includes pellets,rifles for those who don’t have them,and shooting kits.”

A number of India’s top shooters have already started training here. “At the time of printing this,” says Singh—pointing to a brochure on the table,“we had 17 international shooters. That was nine days ago. Now we have 23.” And these include Narang himself,Ronak Pandit,Rahi Sarnobat,Annu Raj Singh and Hariom Singh.

The shooting facility is equipped with fully electronic 10m,25m and 50m ranges. It also has what it calls the ‘fun range’ — where untrained enthusiasts can taste the sport under supervision during weekends. “We’ve conducted four weekend events,in which around 300 have taken part,mainly IAS and IPS officers,” Singh says.

The idea,says Narang,is to get more people to experience shooting first-hand. “People understand Sachin Tendulkar’s achievements because they have held a bat at some point,and know what it must have taken him… Similarly,I want everyone to hold a rifle and shoot at a target at least once.”

“For beginners,we charge Rs 2,000 for 10 days. They can then go for one-month training,and then for six months,” Singh says.

The academy is supported by sports NGO Lakshya. “Around 20 shooters are funded by Lakshya. A few are sponsored by Olympic Gold Quest and Mittal Foundation… We are trying to get sponsors for the academy itself. With the number of international shooters we have,I think we can attract corporates,” Singh adds.