Shooting right with all her might

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Junior international shooter, Elizabeth Susan Koshy was full of confidence after she had participated in the 50 m peep rifle event in the State shooting championship held in Kozhikode.

But the State record-breaking performance or the gold medal she won did not make ecstatic. “I have a long way to go. Only hard work repays you,” said the 17-year-old pensively.

A plus two student of the Village International School in Thodupuzha, Elizabeth is a team member of the junior national shooting team and has travelled to Germany with the Indian team to participate in the Junior International Competition. She came fifth in the prone 50-metre event.

Elizabeth started her shooting career in the open sight event four years ago and came fourth at the national level. Later she moved to peep sight. “I did not find many growth options in the open sight event in India. I opted for the peep sight event in shooting to participate in the internationals,” she says.

Trained by Satguru Dass from the Navy, Elizabeth has also won several nationals and State level championships. In the recently held, Kumar Surendra Singh Air rifle tournament held in Pune, she won gold and silver in her age category. “Participating in the nationals and internationals is really a wonderful experience. You have umpteen chances to meet expert and experienced players in the field. Several lessons can be learnt by just interacting with them,” she points out.

“It was a great experience to meet Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang. Apart from them, I was able to talk to a lot of other foreign players during my tour to Germany,” she says.

Ask her what she’s learnt from the game so far and she quickly replies, “There are both positives and negatives in the field. There is also a lot of distraction, but if you want to take this up as a career you should be focused. The best part is that if you have talent and a mind to devote to the game, success is yours,” she said.

One of the youngest junior internationals in the country, Elizabeth was attracted to the game after watching a pre-national training held near her home.

“After that I went to seek the help of a personal coach so that I could hone my skills in shooting. And within two years I got my first call to the junior national squad,” she said proudly.

“Before I leave the game, I need to make a mark on the international arena,’’ she adds. But, as she concludes, “Without the full support of my parents, I would have reached nowhere.”