Gagan Narang’s Gun for Glory shooting academy flooded, claims equipment worth Rs 1.3 crore damaged

Gagan Narang claimed equipment worth Rs 1.3 crore, including 80 rifles and pistols, at his Gun for Glory academy, has been adversely affected in the Hyderabad deluge.

Gagan Narang claimed equipment worth Rs 1.3 crore has been adversely affected. (Special arrangement)

London Olympics bronze medalist Gagan Narang claimed equipment worth Rs 1.3 crore, including 80 rifles and pistols, at his Gun for Glory academy ‘has been adversely affected’ in the Hyderabad deluge.

Narang was on duty at the Air India office at Shamshabad Airport, about 15km away from the academy in Trimulgherry, when incessant rainfall began flooding several parts of the city. According to Hyderabad IMD centre, the city received 19.2cm rainfall on October 14, which is the highest in October since 1891.

Narang said he rushed to the academy after receiving a call from one of the officials but by the time he reached, the water levels had risen to more than five feet. “We used water pumps for more than 24 hours so that we could get the equipment out,” Narang told The Indian Express. “While we were able to get all the equipment out, there is still more than one feet of water inside the academy as we talk. It is a heartbreaking experience.”

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Apart from 80 rifles and pistols, Narang said 20 old rifles, four electronic and 10 manual targets suffered damage.

Last year, the GNSPF was awarded the Rashtriya Khel Purotsahan Puraskar at the National Sports Awards. (Special arrangement)

The 37-year-old opened the academy in 2015, three years after he won the bronze medal at the London Olympics and four years after he had started the Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation (GNSPF). Last year, the GNSPF was awarded the Rashtriya Khel Purotsahan Puraskar at the National Sports Awards.

Narang would also train at the academy along with shooters like world number one Elavenil Valarivan and 2019 Junior Asian Championships gold medalist Dhanush Srikanth. Narang added he was planning to reopen the academy at the beginning of next year. However, that is likely to be delayed further.

“The new rifles and pistols were of Walther and Pardini brands and were bought for the Gachibowli campus. After the lockdown restrictions were lifted, we had imported the equipment and had stored them here,” he said. “I have talked with the German firms today and they said they will try whatever they can (to repair) the damaged equipment.”

Nitin Sharma

Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story ‘Harmans of Moga’, Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women’s cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin’s interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More