BENGALURU: Shooting has long been a niche sport in India, but lately, there’s been a marked rise in its interest. Shooting academies across Bengaluru have reported a 50 per cent increase in enquiries. The rise is largely attributed to the global fame of Turkey’s Olympic pistol sharpshooter, Yusuf Dikec, known for his effortless and nonchalant shooting style, and India’s very own Manu Bhaker, whose performance at the Paris Olympics has inspired many, particularly women, to pick up the sport.
Santhosh Nagarajachari, coach at Golden Ace Shooting Academy in JP Nagar, says this year’s Olympics brought a lot of attention to shooting, and people are always inspired by the winners. “A lot of middle-aged people are inspired by Yusuf Dikec’s style,” says Nagarajachari.
Manu Bhaker’s success has also motivated many young women to explore shooting. Raksha Manjunath Patagar, a national-level shooter and coach at Best Shot Shooting Sport Academy, has witnessed this firsthand. “Inspired by Manu Bhaker, we have seen a lot of enquiries from girls. Most of the enquiries are for pistol shooting.
Earlier, they would not know much of a difference between rifle or pistol but now with the internet, they know exactly what they want,” says Patagar, whose three-year-old academy offers amateur as well as professional level training. She further adds, “While we’ve always relied on word-of-mouth, online interest has grown significantly. We even have parents reaching out on behalf of their children.
We start training kids as young as nine.” The academy’s foundations course, which includes 15 classes with sports pistol, sports rifle and basic rifle, is priced at Rs 6,000 and the prices of the professional courses varies according to the specialisation and number of classes taken, starting at Rs 7,000 monthly.
Proving Manjunath right is Aishani Shetty, an 11-year-old student, who recently took up shooting inspired by Bhaker. “I was so happy and proud when Manu Bhaker won bronze for the country in shooting. Not many women from India have achieved what she did, especially in shooting which is still seen as male-dominated,” says Shetty. “I am just starting out but I would like to take it up professionally.”
Even Dithesh Hosamane (37), a business analyst, has a similar story. “I am from Kodagu and I was exposed to air rifles at a very young age. But I never got a chance to pursue it. After coming across Yusuf Dikec’s story who also picked up shooting as a skill to learn but went ahead to win laurels for his country, it inspired me to take it up too,” he adds.
For Eva, a 21-year-old student in the UK, her interest in shooting started closer to home. “When I was really young I used to see my dad and his friends go for shooting and ever since then, I was fascinated by the sport and wanted to learn more,” she shares. “Since I’ll
be in Bengaluru for a month, I decided to take a short-term course. One of the best things about shooting is how much focus it requires. In TV shows it looks quite cool but it’s much harder than it seems,” says Eva.
While many assume that shooting, as a static sport, doesn’t require much physical fitness, Nagarajachari says otherwise. “In tennis or badminton, your whole body is moving so it is considered as a fitness activity. But, while shooting is a static sport, standing in one place for hours and concentrating is not easy. You have to be extremely fit for it,” he adds.