CHENNAI: The dust is yet to settle post the Games. The just-concluded bash would have been life-changing for most of the participants, including Indians.
Shooters were in the thick of it as the contingent captured three bronze medals (a significant push as the country had blanked in the previous two editions of the Games) in Chateauroux (France). Swapnil Kusale was one of the shooters to climb the podium, becoming the first from the country to medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions discipline in the process.
The marksman from Maharashtra has barely had the time to rest and reflect on his feat. The 29-year-old has not even visited his hometown, Kolhapur, so far. As is the case with most medallists (past and present), he has been a sought-after figure, having been invited to several felicitation ceremonies and media functions.
It has been hectic but his coach Deepali Deshpande, who also has also been experiencing the frenzy alongside him, welcomes this period of activity. "Felicitation hi khatam nahi ho raha hai (Felicitation functions have been endless). I have also tagged along with him, here and there," she says with a laugh.
"I want this kind of attention for all my shooters. He has been in the sport for such a long time. But somehow he was missing out on a big win. He lost an individual medal in the Asian Games and it was the same at the World Championships. He did win a quota but he didn't win a medal. He was not celebrated as such. I'm glad that he is getting attention now."
Moreover, Deepali feels Swapnil and the rest of the medallists' mammoth efforts could spur the contingent to win more medals next time. "The Olympics is such that you just want a medal. The medal has come. The door has been open now and everybody will follow suit. Last two editions, we had blanked so this opening of the door was vital," the Arjuna Awardee notes.
The former India high performance coach (rifle) was not in Paris but she has been a massive influence behind the scenes. She was taking a keen interest in the Games as she had three other shooters apart from Swapnil at the Games.
While Swapnil surprised many to etch his name in the annals of history, Sift Kaur Samra, who was considered to be one of the favourites to medal before the Games, put up a subdued show. Arjun Babuta, who also trains under Deepali, got agonizingly close to his target before taking that dreaded fourth spot. Anjum Moudgil used all her experience to mount a challenge but failed to navigate past the qualifying hurdle. "Honestly, I didn't feel that bad about others' performance," she says, reasoning that the sport is of such nature (hits and misses).
Sift had made things look easy in the build-up to the Olympics, winning multiple medals across competitions including an Asian Games gold medal last year, where she had hit a world record mark in the final. One would not associate terms like setbacks, loss etc with Sift prior to the Paris outcome. She is now in unfamiliar territory and Deepali feels that the youngster will learn from this difficult experience.
"Sift had never experienced a downside in her career. So I was just hoping that it (downside, if any) would come after the Olympics. She had made a gradual rise and was always on the up and I was just trying to maintain the same and not interfere too much. I was hoping she would continue with that trend but it didn't happen.
"I didn't want to sow the seeds of doubt in her mind. I was hoping things would go the way it was going. I'm not sad about it. It's part of the game. She's such a strong shooter and I'm sure she'll bounce back."
While the bronze is bound to give wings to Swapnil's future, the likes of Sift will be hoping to mull over their performance and get some answers before making a fresh bid in the upcoming LA Olympics.