Lone Pak shooter Usman Chand lands in India in pursuit of Olympic quota

He is the one-man army for Pakistan at the ISSF Shooting World Cup, which started today in New Delhi. Skeet shooter Usman Chand is the lone Pakistani shooter to make the trip across the border in search of some valuable competition and game time plus an Olympic quota. The 37-year-old shooter from Sialkot, Punjab, however, doesn’t look lost or frazzled by the occasion or attention. Having arrived in India a couple of nights ago, without any visa hassles, Chand is gearing up for some serious competition after a gap of over a year due to COVID-19 pandemic, which brought all sporting activity to a halt worldwide.

"It feels good to come here (India). COVID-19 protocols have to be followed, you can’t ignore them. This is the first time I am travelling since COVID-19 struck. Last time I travelled for a competition, was a year ago in Doha. It is tough - psychologically more so, because we are getting tested for COVID-19 every day. That concern is always there at the back of the mind - what if it comes positive while travelling?"

But COVID-19 protocols and the bio-bubble restrictions applied by the organising committee of the NRAI and the ISSF, restricts movement to the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Tughlaqabad and to the hotel.

Chand is not unfamiliar with the shooting range or India. He has come here for competitions and also on business trips - he runs a surgical instruments business. He admitted that he had packed up his gun after the Doha World Cup last year and given up all hopes of bagging an Olympic quota. "This is the last chance for me to qualify. When I saw there was a chance, I returned. I had to look after my business, too, as it was going down" said Chand, after completing his practice round at the shotgun range ahead of his qualification event on Saturday.

He does not have a coach per say. He trains on his own, with the help of a friend, who is a former shotgun shooter. Talking about how he kept up with the sport during the lockdown and COVID-19 related restrictions, Chand said, "I kept training in Sialkot. I have a range at home but how much can you train alone? This is the first competition I am taking part in. I did not go for the ISSF Shooting World Cup for shotgun in Cairo."

Three of his compatriots have already qualified for Tokyo Olympics and thus have not travelled to Delhi. Asked about his expectations, given the challenges from the event, Chand said, "It depends on the day; if it works for you. But I am competing with shooters who have already competed in a few competitions before this. Let’s hope for the best."

His father was fond of hunting and so he followed in his and his brothers’ footsteps. However, he was first introduced to competitive shooting by his friend. “In 2008, I was taken to a national championship in Islamabad by a friend for the first time. I saw the competitions and felt this is also something worth pursuing. So, I decided to take up skeet shooting and see how far one can go in it."

Speaking about the shooting sport scenario in Pakistan, Chand said that it has been growing in the past few years. However, rifle and pistol shooting are still more popular than shotgun. "We have 4-5 national events in Pakistan in a year. Almost 30-40 people compete. At the moment though, more competitors are from the services background for now."