Rio 2016 snub closed chapter now: Shooter Sanjeev Rajput

The smile on his face said it all. The silver medal and the quota place which he bagged in the 50m Rifle 3 position event at the recently concluded ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janerio brought to close a painful four-year chapter for Sanjeev Rajput. The 38-year-old from Haryana is one of the most experienced shooters in the Indian team, and it was his experience as well as his family which helped him come back from despair to win India its eighth Olympic quota place.

Rajput and his medal-winning teammates, who helped India finish on top of the medals tally with five gold, two silver and two bronze medals, were felicitated by Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju at the Sports Authority of India headquarters in New Delhi.

Rajput described this World Cup medal win as his "unfinished business". And rightly so. For a shooter as consistent as him, who keeps a low profile, with no backers in the sport, he has been treated shabbily by his fellow shooters and the national federation. For the record, Rajput, a former Navy man, has won four Olympic quotas in a row—the first being at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He competed in the 2012 edition but was under pressure, having complained about the then foreign coach Stanislas Lapidus focusing on just one shooter and none of the others, including him. In fact, he had to make a personal appeal to the then Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken along with fellow rifle shooter Joydeep Karmakar to grant him funds to train with personal coaches citing the step motherly treatment. This was not an unfounded allegation as the NRAI was aware of the issue and had tried but failed to broker peace.

As if this wasn't enough, after securing a quota in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Rajput was "made aware" that he would not be competing in the Games that year. His quota went to a shotgun shooter instead. Rajput also had to deal with problems outside the range when he was accused of rape in 2016. He denied the allegation and the matter is currently sub-judice.

Rajput prepared for the 2016 Rio World Cup, with an eye on a quota place, on a war footing. "The day I reached the Rio Olympic range, I thought I had unfinished business there. I had to get the medal. Throughout my training there and competition, I kept thinking this is my Olympics."

But all that, said Rajput to THE WEEK, is history now. "I persisted with my shooting. Except TOPS, I don't have any support. It has been worth it. I left everything, including my personal life, for shooting.... I just wanted to close that chapter. If I remember that... (pause) it's better I think of positive things."

Life has come a full circle and how for the quiet Rajput. With the rest of men's air rifle team yet to deliver another quota and almost all opportunities to do so over, it is a certainty that Rajput will not be prevented from competing in Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

With nine Olympic quotas in the bag as of now, the NRAI is hopeful of a few more quotas for Tokyo 2020, in a bid to surpass the 12 quotas won by India before Rio 2016. The odds of another quota in air rifle are, however, dim. If so, Rajput will most probably have to compete in all three air rifle events—10m air rifle, prone, and 3 position. "Yes, I am prepared for it. I need to practice more in air rifle. I am not so much in touch with it lately. I have planned for Tokyo. I was checking on weather and wind conditions in August. I can win a medal in Tokyo," a determined Rajput said.

Jobless and with only TOPS funding from the SAI and cash awards from his earlier medal wins in hand, it was by no means an easy task for this Arjuna Awardee. “When you are shooting, there are a thousand thoughts floating in your mind, most of which are negative. You keep on striking against a brick wall. Coming out of that mood is very difficult. I banked on my experience, and support from my family and friends.”