CHENNAI: If you thought that titles, vast stretches of real estate and overflowing coffers are the only things that are passed down among those who hail from royal families, then the story of Prithviraj Tondaiman will ensure that you add 'passion for sport' to that list when you think of it the next time.
“Hailing from the Pudukottai Royal Family, guns have always been a part of my life. My grandfather used to be a great shot, when hunting was legal back in the days. My father (R Rajagopala Tondaiman) then got into competitive shooting, and I grew up seeing him in action. That's how I became interested in the sport,” says the World No 41 and the third-best-ranked Indian in trap shooting.
“I handled an airgun when I was five, and bottles and cans used to be my targets. In a few years, I started shooting at proper ranges. My father was a skeet shooter, and I thought I'd end up doing the same. But when I tried out trap shooting, I developed an instant liking for it,” recollects the 29-year-old who has been based in the city ever since his graduation days in 2004).
“Plus, Manavjit Sandhu, who's a friend and a teammate, was my inspiration. He is my role model, and I really wanted to become like him. His expert guidance helped me develop my skills in this discipline.”
Prithviraj participated in his first nationals at the junior level in 2003, and held the junior champion title for four consecutive years. In 2007, as part of the junior shooting contingent, he won silver at the Asian Shooting Championship. He then participated in two international championships in 2011 (Asian Shotgun Championship and Asian Shooting Championship) and made his first senior-level World Cup appearance in Tucson, Arizona (USA) in the same year.
After three World Cup appearances this year, the MBA student from SRM University feels that he needs iron out a few kinks to do better. “I've been shooting decent scores this year, but I'm trying to better my technique. I’m working to develop both the physical and mental aspects of my game. I have a coach for both. I’m hitting the gym regularly to increase my endurance and stamina.”
Mental robustness, Prithviraj opines, is very crucial when it comes to the world of professional shooting. “In trap shooting, especially, the scores are so high nowadays that missing one target is almost the end of a match. A 123 or a 125 doesn’t even make it to the top-six scores. Sometimes when you miss a target in the first round on the first five, then you literally have to hit the rest throughout till the end.
Missing one target does tend to leave you mentally shattered.” It hasn't always been a smooth sailing. “In San Marino (the World Cup this year), I needed one target from the last three to qualify for the Olympics, but I ended up missing all the three. Mental toughness, according to me, helped me bounce back from these kinds of situations.”
To counter this particular issue, Prithviraj — who will be heading to New Delhi in two weeks for a camp before the Asian Shotgun Championship in Abu Dhabi next month — is working with a trainer at the Ramachandra Medical College. “They make use of a module given to them by the Sports Medicine Centre in South Africa. I’ve just started and we're in the conversation stages, so I need to wait and see how it progresses.”