New Delhi: Competing at the Olympics always comes with it’s fair share of pressure. Focus, determination and blocking out outside noise are some of the techniques that are often talked about in a highly-competitive environment for the athletes. Former Olympian and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jitu Rai believes taking pressure in a positive way could help the Indian shooters at the Paris Olympics 2024 and break a 12-year drought in the sport at the grandest stage.
With 21 shooters, India has sent one of the strongest shooting contingents and the biggest in history, eclipsing their 15-member team in the previous edition in Tokyo. India’s Olympic first medal in shooting came from Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore when he won a silver at 2004 Athens Olympics. Since then India has won three more medals at the Olympics – Abhinav Bindra (gold, 2008), Vijay Kumar (silver, 2012) and Gagan Narang (bronze, 2012).
In Tokyo, India drew blank with just one final appearance out of 15 shooters in the fray. One can’t blame the skill-set of the athletes, but they certainly crumbled under pressure. “Pressure will be there for everyone because the whole country expects you to win a medal,” Rai, who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics told India.com in an exclusive interview.
“My advice would be to take the pressure in a positive way and be confident enough to believe in yourself. I would also ask them to stick to the basics and be determined until the job is done,” he added. Manu Bhaker will be leading the shooting contingent in Paris.
She will be competing in women’s 10m air pistol and the women’s 25m pistol and is the only athlete to participate in more than one event. Besides Bhaker, expectations will be high on Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Anjum Moudgil and Sift Kaur Samra among a few.
Our 10m top guns in training at the Chateauroux range ahead of @Paris2024 #ParisOlympics #TeamIndia #IndianShooting pic.twitter.com/BGkdHBA9EM
— NRAI (@OfficialNRAI) July 24, 2024
“We have a very good and deserving contingent this time and I am fully confident that we won’t come back empty handed this time,” said two-time Asian Games gold medallist Rai, when asked about how many shooting medals he is expecting from Paris.
The 36-year-old, who is a 2016 Khel Ratna awardee, also lauded the Government of India for supporting and bringing out new schemes unearth hidden talents from around the country. “There has been a huge change in the field of shooting nowadays as compared to the days when we used to play.
“Earlier, we had limited opportunities. Now, with several competitions like Khelo India Games, our shooters, even the elite ones, are getting more competition within themselves. More competitors mean more competition. In our time, 584 or 585 was considered to be a very good score but now its much more than that,” he added.
Speaking on the government’s new Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) initiative, Rai said, “It will be very helpful to a lot of kids who still are unaware of their own talents because of lack of platforms. Through this programme (Kirti), it will definitely bring a change in the long term as the country prepares for the 2028 and 2032 Olympics.”
