Will India’s shooting contingent be third time lucky after debacles in two consecutive Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo?
As the nation pins its hopes on the marksmen to lead the medal tally in Paris, Dr Amit Bhattacharjee, one of the noted mental conditioning coaches, has a piece of advice for the shooters – ‘don’t carry a baggage and live in the moment’.
Back in 2008, Dr Bhattacharjee adopted a similar policy with his ward Abhinav Bindra, who left his disappointing campaigns in the 2000 Sydney Games and the 2004 Athens Olympics to strike gold in Beijing, becoming India’s first individual gold medallist in the Olympics.
“Don’t carry any baggage because the more you think about it, chances are high that you will lose the plot. You have to back your process and the training that you have undergone over the years. You have to live in the present and be open to the circumstances,” Dr Bhattacharjee tells Sportstar.
While Indian shooting enjoyed success in three consecutive Olympics – in 2004, with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore clinching silver; Bindra winning gold in 2008 and, in 2012, Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang claimed silver and bronze medals respectively – there has been a downward trend since the Rio Games in 2016.
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But this time around, a record 21-member shooting contingent – the largest-ever Indian shooting squad at the Olympics – will be hoping to change the script.
“Even Abhinav had issues with the floor in the 2004 Athens Games, while in 2008, his gun was forty clicks away, so such things are part of the hazard management and you cannot afford to give in…”
“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose – it’s about overcoming the challenging phases and coming back. You have to understand that whatever happened the last time was four years ago and that is a long time,” Dr Bhattacharjee says, adding, “Just treat it as a sport and don’t think about the medal, or else you will unnecessarily pile on the pressure…”
Despite success at international events, including the ISSF World Cup, the Indian shooters have drawn blank at the Olympics in the last couple of editions, and according to Dr. Bhattacharjee, the Paris Games will be all about mental toughness.
Dr. Bhattacharjee poses alongside a photo with Abhinav Bindra while discussing India’s medal prospects in shooting at the 2024 Olympics. | Photo Credit: R V Moorthy / The Hindu
“Even with Abhinav, I saw that no matter what you do at the World Cup or other events, the Olympics is a different ball game altogether. In those days, there was not a level playing field because other nations would have better facilities as compared to ours, but now, everyone has equal opportunities, so that’s no longer a problem,” Dr Bhattacharjee adds.
“It’s all about the mindset, preparedness and how you focus yourself on the big day. Most importantly, it’s about keeping faith in just backing the process.”
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With the world watching them, the athletes are always under scrutiny. Things aren’t any different for the shooters either, and on crucial days, it’s important to take things in the stride and stay focused.
“Malfunctioning of equipment is common, and this might happen with a lot of players. You need to understand that this is part and parcel of life and deal with it accordingly,” the mental coach says, making it clear that pressing the panic button in crunch times would only add to the stress.
“Have confidence and just back your skills. That should be the approach,” he says. “You should be positive and understand that falling sick or equipment malfunctioning are just natural and can happen to anyone.
“Even Abhinav had issues with the floor in the 2004 Athens Games, while in 2008, his gun was forty clicks away, so such things are part of the hazard management and you cannot afford to give in…
“For a shooter, there should be nothing called pressure, and the more you believe that you can achieve something, you will eventually do everything to chase your dreams. That should be the ultimate motto,” he says.
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