Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
New Delhi: Injuries and recoveries have marked Gagan Narang’s life over the last three years and the shooting ace, having just secured a quota for the Rio Olympics, says he is striving to reach peak form and maintain the momentum going into the multisport extravaganza.
The London Olympics bronze medallist has just earned a quota place for the Rio Games by finishing third on the podium in the 50m Rifle Prone Event at the ISSF World Cup in Fort Benning, USA.
“US to Rio may not be a long distance but May 2015 to July-August 2016 is a long journey. I have to plan for the road ahead. Important would be to manage my peaks. I shall have to sit down with my coach when I get back to India and chart my programme for the next 12 months,” Narang told PTI.
The 32-year-old old called it a crucial result, which will give him enough time to prepare for what could be his fourth Olympic participation.
“I needed to secure the Olympic quota to plan ahead. The earlier one gets, the easier it is to chart the next few months. Now I have a definite direction. In that sense it was a crucial result. I am very happy to have got it in this World Cup. Next we go to Germany and compete in the year-end World Cup.”
A multiple time medallist at mega events such as Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, World Cups besides Olympics, Narang has been called the ‘powerhouse of Indian shooting’ by National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) President Raninder Singh.
The shooter is focused on keeping himself fit.
“I have worked a lot on my fitness. That was my biggest challenge. I knew if I got that right, the rest would fall in place. As far as technique is concerned, I do not fall behind. Also I worked with my mental trainer to train myself for tougher contests. I think my progress has been satisfactory and it is showing in the results.”
Having experienced ups and down in recent years, Narang said this result was expected.
It was not long ago that Narang was left out of the 10m air-rifle Indian team for the first three World Cups this year after he failed to record the minimum qualification score required.
The former world record holder also failed to win anything big at the World Championships and Asian Games last year. But the man, who was once winning medals by the bagful, turned the clock in America.
“I would only call it an important win. The cycle between the last Olympics and the upcoming one has been of several ups and downs — injuries and recoveries. In the mean time, I got good results from prone.
“I won two medals in prone and three positions at the Glasgow Games. There have been narrow misses but medals had not dried up completely. I am gladdened that the quota came now. Would not call it a turning point because this was always expected,” said Narang.
The rifle ace is content with the scores he is achieving.
“The scores aren’t too bad. I only have to get more consistent here on. There will be good and bad days in shooting. I need to push the bar whenever I am out there. But I also need to see that the performance is at par with my own expectations. I need to focus a little more.”
Asked about his training regime and how he had prepared for the World Cups, Narang said, “Shortly after the Nationals in Kerala early this year, I put my head down to work on securing quota for the Games. I had a few training stints in Switzerland and Germany, to fine-tune my technique.
“I knew I had limited time at hand and I had to work towards utilising it to the fullest. That is what I did. Apart from my coach Lapidus, my mental trainer, Vaibhav Agashe has also been immensely helpful in this period.”
On how he planned to change the colour of his medal at Rio, Narang said, “Of course, one shoots to win. And not just changing the colour of the medal, I would like to win medals in multiple events. Hoping to make Rio a memorable one.”
