“This is not a sport that can be forced… it is a self-motivated type of sport. Your thought process is part of your game."

During my week in Mumbai, my grandmother mentioned that an old family friend’s daughter is now a professional rifle shooter, while managing her family with such a demanding career. As always, I won’t mention her name throughout this post but here is a glimpse into her story.

THE EARLY DAYS

Professional Rifle Shooter. 14 years of experience. Currently playing at the national level in India.

She actually started rifle shooting in her last year of college, which is later than others now, but when she started, shooting wasn’t popular at all and the others players were also her age. “Sports awareness was very little then,” she explained. Today kids are starting in 8^th or 9^th grade (standard) or even earlier. Rifle shooting was a program at her school, where her coach selected her for the Maharashtra team, which she played on for 4 years before being hired by a national company, who she currently plays for. At first, it was just a fun hobby. She initially didn’t intend to make a career out of rifle shooting, at least for the first two years or so. She explained that maturity is a big part of this sport, so it took her sometime to truly understand this sport. She started with five or six girls in college and still practices with those same players. In the beginning, these girls shared one rifle; “There just wasn’t much equipment.” They continue to compete and motivate each other today.

CHOOSING THIS CAREER

Her uncle was a professor at a college and wore the uniform from the NCC program, which she later joined when she started training in rifle shooting. She always admired her uncle and that uniform, which inspired her to always want to be a part of the NCC program. Finances were pretty tight at first because so much of the equipment is imported. After she got the job with the national company however things were easier.  It was pleasantly surprising to hear that her family was very supportive; after marriage, even her in-laws supported her ambitions and dreams in rifle shooting. You don’t hear much of that in India, especially for athletes. The interviewee explained that her husband and in-laws were very supportive and she actually played better after she got married.  The joint family set up is pretty common in India, which is the kind of household she lives in as well- with her in-laws. She explained that living in a joint family set up has been really helpful because she is traveling a lot of the year to competitions. The most interesting part of this sport is that there is no age bar. The interviewee started to compete again within nine months of her daughter’s birth.

THE SPORT

Rifle shooting is a sport that needs discipline, which improves with motivation and steadiness, as well as developed control of one's breathing, muscle commands, and exercise, according to the interviewee. There is different equipment that helps with back support and steadiness. The rifle itself is 5-5.5 kg so the shooters use a canvas jacket and flat shoes for additional balance and back support.

It is essentially an individual sport, where individual performances are compiled together as a team to determine overall points. Balewadi shooting range in Pune is an international standard range. The interviewee explained that Balewadi has computerized recognition of shots. More than 60 lanes is an international standard range. The top 8 then move to the finals, which are held at a different stadium. The first target was calculated by hand before the new computerized recognition technology of shots. When the interviewee first started, her targets were paper targets in an 8 lane arena. However, the new computerized recognition of shots now allows for more targets and quick calculations. Regardless of the number of lanes or progress in calculations, men and women both compete in rifle shooting. They compete differently but at the same tournament, like in tennis. The audience is not much for both men or women; audience attendance is something that could improve according to the interviewee.

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With a day starting at 9:30 and ending after 8pm, the interviewee works at the office, practices, and works out as a part of her daily routine. She has followed this routine for years now.

The interviewee competes in three different events:

      A. Indoor 10m air rifle/ pistol. Everything is imported and is allowed without a license. This involves approximately 40 shots in 50 minutes. Pellets are based on weights and accuracy is determined on where the pellets hit the target after the shot is taken.

        B. .22 bullets, live ammunition has two categories. One, prone which means to take shots laying down, which was the interviewee’s favorite. Two, .22 rifle three position which is taking shots in all three positions.

The athletes take the number of shots at his or her own pace with the goal of accuracy and completion.