Rifle shooters with body suits and weapons in hand, resemble characters plucked straight out of a Marvel comic. At another certain ridiculous level, top shooters are superhumans too. They can control their heartbeats, emotions and consciousness. They seldom miss targets; their power of concentration is immaculate; hitting targets unperturbed by the turmoil outside amidst roars and applause, extraordinary vision.
And here is Gagan Narang. The London Olympics bronze medallist in 10m air rifle. Just another man, a smile glued to his face (no matter whether he is winning or losing), his mind occupied despite looking deceptively serene and profound, without his bodysuit and rifle. All set to receive the Khel Protsahan Award on August 29.
Conversations with him — no matter what the topic is — unintentionally veers towards what the calls life: shooting. No word touches anything but the sport he has pursued with fiery zest. For more than three decades, he has not known anything but shooting, the ranges he’s shot at, the size of his target, his weapon, and the distance from where he shoots in his quest for glory. Not until last year, when he took a break. “Shooting is all that I have known,” Narang says with a tinge of emotion as he recollects the days when he did nothing but shoot.
The sound of flying bullets dying in staccato was been his only lullaby. The range was the shrine where he strived for perfection.Now, with active shooting slowly fading into the folds of his memory, he is quietly getting used to life outside, like a prisoner who walks free after a long sentence, knowing nothing of the outside world. Like all athletes, he too is in that phase of his career where he thinks he can make a comeback.
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As we stroll across the vast expanse of Centre for Sports Science (CSS) at Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai — where Narang recently set up his Gun for Glory (GFG) academy — he touches upon words like love, beauty and devotion. None to do with filial life.“I can make a comeback,” he says with youthful exuberance. “I’m starting to love the sport.”
As he shows his 50m range, Narang loses himself in the conversation. He talks of how he managed to custom-fit a mobile target that doubles up for both 50m and 25m practice, the all-weather room, and how he plans to transform this space into something sublime.“When I took the break last year, I was not enjoying the sport anymore,” says the shooter who holds double world record of perfect 600 in 10m air rifle. For Narang, who was crestfallen after a bitter miss at Beijing Olympics but came back to win bronze at the next edition, that might just be possible again.
While travelling and visiting various GFG centres, interacting with young shooters rekindled his urge to compete. “I realised I can still shoot. Moreover, I have nothing to lose now,” says the 36-year-old. “They keep challenging me and I have to take up the challenge.”
“These are exciting times. Mazaa aa raha hai (I’m loving it). One year ago, I wasn’t. The break gives you a new perspective; new motivation. I will try (qualifying for Olympics). It’s a little too far right now, practically speaking. With the youngsters doing exceptionally, I will have to shoot really high. But anything is possible.”
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Sometimes, break can do miracles to the human psyche. It helps people understand and view life from a different perspective. Narang too had this moment when he gave up shooting for another passion: shooting nature’s bounty with his other weapon, the camera. Narang owns state-of-the-art equipment that cost a fortune. “The world through the lens transports you to another dimension. It is a different challenge to get that perfect shot.”
But his quest for perfection is embedded deep within due to the vocation he pursues. Years of shooting targets have given him the astuteness to capture that perfect frame. “I like to call myself an amateur photographer. Some people say the photographs I have clicked are worthy of professional awards. But that isn’t my goal. Some of them have been good, though. Shooting with the camera is more like a stress-buster. It helps me unwinds because it’s a different environment. Different zone. Recharge batteries.”
The Leap Tiger Project logo etched on his Gun for Glory t-shirt rests inches away from his heart; a symbolic attachment to the royal beast of the wild. Narang’s newfound passion took him to numerous national parks, both in the country as well as abroad. But close to his heart is Kaziranga. “I’ve seen tigers at a lot of these places. But I would say Kaziranga, with its diversity, is been one of the best parks. I’m yet to explore Kabini and Corbett. Hopefully sometime next season.”
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In the last eight months or so, when Narang was on his break, he discovered another world. He realised he had not spent much time with his parents, who had once sold the land meant for their house to buy him a gun instead. It was in 2006 that they finally didn’t have to live in rented accommodation.
“I’ve realised I have not spent much time with them. My father was not well and then I decided to spend time with them.”Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award and now Khel Protsahan Award. Not many sportspersons in India have managed that. But Narang will be happy if he helps one of his shooters win gold at the Olympics: the medal he misses most.