CHENNAI: It’s popular notion that you can become a sportsperson only if you’re young. Rarely do we hear about ageing athletes scaling heights past their prime, except in certain fields. But such silly notions don’t seem to concern veteran woman shooter Malathy David, whose inspiring tale in the competitive field is trailblazing to say the least. At a time when the nation’s leading competitive shooter Abhinav Bindra has just retired at the age of 33, City Express caught up with the 69-year-old for a chat about how to be a great shot at life!
“My father was the Superintendent of Police, Madurai, an ace shooter and recipient of the King’s medal for being a Champion Shot. It was from him that I received my initial lessons in shooting,” recalls Malathy. She also honed her skills during frequent hunting trips to her family grounds.
As an eager participant in National Cadet Corps, she won the best cadet award for shooting (in 1962) during her school days. “I was good at hunting pigeons, squirrels and other tiny animals in my family grounds during my childhood. Once, I even shot a cobra right on its hood,” she claims.
However, high academic ambitions and domestic concerns forced her to take a long sabbatical from the sport. “I had joined the Madurai Medical College because I wanted to be a doctor in the armed forces and serve the country, but I had to drop out of the course after my marriage,” she recalls.
Malathy settled into life as a homemaker, but always urged her children to participate in sports. Her old passion came calling once again when her father, on his deathbed, urged her to either complete her course in medicine or take up shooting again. “I decided to give shooting a try so in 1985 (she was almost 40 then), I took up the sport again. I went for a few trials in the women’s category, and at that time, there were very few women in the field and rifle shooting was not that popular either,” she says, adding that she could compete because there was no age limit until the veteran’s category. Malathy performed well and was selected to represent the State, and that was her re-birth as a professional shooter, a passion she followed for the next 20 years.
“My first medal was later that year in 1985, when I won the Gold at the National Shooting Championship at Chennai in the .22 Open Sight Rifle category. The same year, I represented Tamil Nadu at the National Games in the rifle, air rifle, pistol, air pistol, trap and double trap events, both in teams as well as individual events,” she says proudly. Malathy also represented the Chennai Rifle Club, surprising many with her unnerving aim at an age well past most athletes’ prime. “It’s not as easy as people think. It’s not just about aiming and shooting. The hands need to be very steady. Besides, the sport is conducted in three different positions as well, which require the shooter to remain stationary for long periods of time, often supporting the body with elbows or knees; it can cause them to bruise,” she says, showing her calloused elbows.
She remembered one of the national championships in Delhi during the 1990s that was conducted in December. The temperature was -5 degrees and the schedule they were given began at 8.30 am, when the fog was so thick that they couldn’t even see the target. “It was an event that required me to be in the prone position, flat on my stomach on the ground, with merely a thin sheet separating me and the cold surface,” she explains. “Of the 80 rounds I had to shoot, my fingers started getting numb by the 20th shot, and soon after, I started shivering uncontrollably. Though someone put a shawl over me, I started going into shock, and had to be given medical aid to regain my composure,” she recalls.
“There are very few women who stay in the sport,” rues Malathy. “Most women shooters stop competing after seven-eight years, though there’s a category for veteran women shooters. Also, the guns and the bullets are very expensive, which means only people who can afford them join the sport.”
As for her exploits, Malathy is ecstatic that she got to live her dream, pointing to her collection of medals and certificates. Though her last National Medal was in 2005, where she took part in a team event, she is still a regular at veteran shooting category at local events. “I recently participated in the Chennai Rifle Club championship, and though I was competing after a long time, I still won in the veteran category!” she smiles.