London Olympics may be 155 days away, but India’s best bet — ace shooter Gagan Narang — has been going through the paces in Pune. Gagan will have a golden chance to test waters in London much before the Olympics when the ISSF World Cup commences there from April 17 to 29.
“It is good that the World Cup is taking place in London. It will be held at the same range which hosts the Olympics, and everyone can get a feel of the conditions,” said Gagan, who was the first Indian to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, in August 2010. Unlike some of the their counterparts who are undergoing an all-weather training to prepare for the big event, the Indian shooting team chose not to. The Hyderabadi also was the first to achieve the feat in the 2004 edition in Athens, and in the subsequent Games in Beijing in 2008. Not many would know that his father B.S. Narang had sold a piece of land in order to purchase a costly gun for his son early in his career.
The Khel Ratna Awardee surprised many when he chose to start an academy in Pune, and not in Hyderabad. Speaking about his academy, Gagan said, “We have about 38 shooters who are currently training at the academy. We have been going from strength to strength.”
While Gagan is keen on setting up a shooting academy in the city, he is hard done by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP). “I am looking forward to setting up an academy in Hyderabad. I had sent a proposal to SAAP, but haven’t received a response yet. It (the proposal) talked about utilising the existing infrastructure at the Gachibowli Shooting range,” Gagan said. The marksman has not given up yet. “I am keen on giving something back to the sport that has offered me so much. I am willing to even meet the honourable chief minister Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy in order to discuss the same,” Gagan said.
Meanwhile, Shashi Bhushan Kumar, vice-chairman and managing director, SAAP, told this newspaper that the proposal was being discussed. “I have received Gagan’s proposal, and it is still at the initial stage,” he said. It will be interesting to see the time that the powers be take in order to take a call on Gagan’s proposal.