CHENNAI: It is no secret that Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states in India when it comes to sports. Cricket, table tennis, chess and athletics are some of the disciplines where players from the state are well-known at the international and national level. But, it’s a different story when shooting is concerned.
The sport, which has given India Olympic glory like no other in the recent past, is a neglected one in the state. The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) has inducted various budding athletes into its Centres of Excellence, Specialised Sports Academies and other schemes to encourage them to pursue sports as a career. Shooting features nowhere.
There is no infrastructure to develop this sport at the grassroots. Going by the annual budget of the Youth Welfare and Sports Development Department, the government has been allocating around Rs 150 crore a year for sports development in schools and colleges since 2015. Of this, very little is spent on shooting.
“Currently, there are only seven shooters from Tamil Nadu in the national squad — five rifle shooters, one pistol shooter and one shotgun shooter,” says Sumeet H Sanghavi, assistant coach of the national junior team. “SDAT does not realise that of all the international medals won by India, 80 per cent have been won by shooters. When shooters are performing so well, land and budget allocations have to be made accordingly in Tamil Nadu.”
Though the government has introduced various schemes such as the SDAT Sports Scholarship, Youth Welfare Scheme and pension for sportspersons in indigent circumstances, shooters rarely receive adequate funding. This is difficult to sustain in a sport like shooting, where a lot of the equipment and ammunition has to be imported at a high cost due to the inaccuracy of its indigenous counterparts. For shooters who take part in the national junior championships, an imported pistol or rifle is necessary.
The starting price of an imported pistol is Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh for a rifle. After that, a national level shooter spends Rs 35,000-Rs 40,000 on ammunition for firearms and Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 on air gun pellets along with regular maintenance. To make matters worse, shooting is not included in the sports quota for admission in schools and colleges in Tamil Nadu.
“The government needs to see that there is a bright future for the sport in India. Shooting must be included in the sports quota in competitive exams in Tamil Nadu for government and civil services. Only then can good shooters be produced,” says Aarthi MR, a gold medallist in 10 m air pistol at state and zonal shooting championships in 2017.
“I had applied for MBA at three institutes in Tamil Nadu, but I could not get in as they didn’t consider my achievements in shooting,” says Janani Murugan, a rifle shooter, who belongs to the ‘renowned’ category which demands a minimum qualification score at the nationals. Only those in this category can import guns.