Asian Games: Ramita Jindal, accounts student who loves to crunch numbers, edges her way to bronze medal

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“Accounts and finance have been my favourite subjects for a long time and I had this habit of doing the calculations of my scores in my mind – whether it is nationals or international competitions. It was only after discussions with my coaches that I started concentrating on the process of each shot rather than the scores,” Jindal had said to Indian Express after winning that junior Worlds title in October last year. Over there she had beaten China’s Ying Shen in a shootout 16-12.

Jindal started off her shooting journey in 2016 when her father Arvind Jindal, a tax advisor, took her to the Karan Shooting Range in Kurukshetra.

“Ramita would always be busy reading books and we wanted her to start a sport. When we took her to the range, it interested her so much that she never missed her training sessions. The approach road to the academy was not even carpeted and shooters would carry their shoes in one hand and equipment in second hand to walk on the muddy path,” said father Arvind Jindal to the Indian Express earlier.

Over there, her levels of concentration forced coach Jagbir Singh to acknowledge that he had a legitimate shooter on his hands. “When I decided to make her shift to rifle, she was excited about the challenge of carrying heavier equipment. Her standing posture was good compared to an average youth of her age. We had to work on her wrist position and later she competed in 300m open-sight rifle events. She would tackle the recoiling of the 300m rifle too with ease,” remembers coach Jagbir Singh.

On Sunday, Jindal started off the final in some form – her lowest shot was a 10.3 in her first five as she then consolidated on that form by holding onto the joint second position after 10 shots. Someone who prefers to take her shot quickly, Jindal continued that habit in Hangzhou on Sunday, preferring to release her shots quickly.

“In the finals, while every shot is important, we can make a comeback. But in the finals, I like maintaining my own rhythm against the opponent. Hence I shoot according to my time which is usually quick and each high-scoring shot gives me confidence,” Jindal had said earlier to the Indian Express.