Younger generation really talented, confident: Pistol shooter Sarnobat

The Indian shooting squad today left for Zagreb, Croatia, to set up training and competition base, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. For most, the COVID-19 vaccine shots are done, the training and interactions with personal coaches who may not be part of the squad in Europe, all wrapped up. For pistol shooter Rahi Sarnobat, though, this time, there is more than just the rgular baggage that is accompanying her for the nearly three-month long stay away from home.

Apart from the usual equipment, ammunition and other regular baggage, she is carrying with her a steamer, an oxymeter, a special mix of homemade spices for immunity boosting drinks, a bag of medicines which include Vitamin C, zinc tablets, and her favourite books. The Kolhapur-based shooter had COVID-19 soon after the ISSF World Cup in Delhi and has recently returned to training after recovering from it. All the above mentioned devices have now become part of her daily routine.

Sarnobat, like her teammates, is happy to train outside India as the COVID-19 situation at home is bad. She had the permission to train alone in Pune but she said that "travelling to and fro was always risky".

Currently ranked world number 2 in the women's 25m sports pistol event, Sarnobat, 30, is quite the veteran in the shooting squad. She was barely 22 when she first made the Olympic squad, participating in the London 2012 Olympics. "The biggest lesson from London was that then I was just satisifed with being there. But then, after my competition, I realised that this (winning a medal) was not unachievable. It was absolutely in my hand, but it was just my thought process. This Olympics, it is really different. I believe in myself."

Sarnobat was speaking at the media interaction organised by the Sports Authority of India and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, which supports her. She will be competing along with Manu Bhaker. She believes not only in herself but also in her teammates, “I believe we are going there as a stronger team,” said the 2018 Asian Games gold medallist.

Despite a heel injury before the New Delhi World Cup in March, Sarnobat won the gold in the 25m pistol event there. "The heel injury was not that serious; it bothered me while wearing my shoes. With the procedure, it went well. The New Delhi World Cup was immediately after that. I think I got infected COVID-19 there. I had mild to moderate symptoms post it. I had weakness; it was really bad. It took me almost 15 days to get out of my bed. After an 18-day break, it took me almost two more weeks to get back on track. It's been a month now; I am back on track," she said.

With the younger shooters keeping the seniors on their toes, Sarnobat said the current generation is self-confident and different from hers. “The younger shooters are more ready than we were as juniors, 10 or 15 years ago. This generation is really talented and confident. They respect their seniors and are willing to learn from them. They believe in themselves equally and do not see themselves as the weaker part of the team,” she said.

“There are days when I ask them how they do what they do and how they think. I seek their opinion, So, this is a discussion and not about me having been there (at the Olympics) and telling them something; it is not like that. Only when they come and ask me, I talk about my experience. They do not have questions about the past experience of the Olympics as they really have had good exposure in the past and good competitions as well. I think they are quite ready for the Olympics,” Rahi said.

The pistol teams—both men and women—have a lot of first timers like Saurabh Chowdhary, Manu Bhaker and Abhishek Verma.

Sarnobat was coached till last year by Mongolian-born German coach Munkhbayar Dorjsuren. The 1992 Olympics bronze medallist in the women's 25m pistol for Mongolia and the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist in the same event for Germany. She is now coached by pistol ace Samaresh Jung, who will not be travelling with her to Croatia. But she is not concerned as she has other pistol coaches—Smirnov Pavel and Ved Prakash—to train with and can also consult Jung online.

The camp, planned by the National Rifle Association of India and the SAI, has been sanctioned a budget of around Rs 4 crore by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The pistol and rifle squad would first head to Zagreb for a camp and then compete as guest shooters in the European Championship from May 20 to June 6 in Osijek. It will also return to that city for the last ISSF World Cup before the Olympic Games, from June 22 to July 3.