NAGOYA: The bus journey to the Toyota highlands itself is quite fascinating as the road winds up the hills through lush green coniferous forest and gushing streams all along. For Indian athletes and coaches, these are the 'ghat roads'. It had been quite an ordeal for the shooters right after they landed in Nagoya for the Asian Games.
They were made to wait at the airport, then at the hotel and finally when they came to the venue, they realised it was not 70 minutes as the Asian Games organising committee had indicated. It was almost two hours. Not ideal for the shooters. No screen time or games on mobile phone, neck pillow for support during journey and light food before leaving. These were some of the logistical decisions the coaches and support staff took. The coaches made sure the players didn't suffer.
On Sunday, three shooters managed to win India their first shooting medal in the team event and later, Elavenil Valarivan won her second in the individual silver. Two medals in a day. She will compete in the mixed team events next.
Among the three, Elavenil was the most experienced and that was visible during the competition. The shooter with roots in Tamil Nadu was in pristine form throughout and managed to exorcise the ghosts of Paris Olympics. It had not been the best days after the Paris heartbreak but she managed to pull herself together and started competing.
For the other two members this is their first Asian Games. If Vidarsa K Vinod became the first from Kerala to win a shooting medal, her teammate Sonam Maskar repaid the sacrifices made by her father — he had to sell land for her to pursue the sport.
Vidarsa is another fascinating story. She did not have a personal rifle until about recently. According to her coach Manoj Kumar, she bought it a few months ago before the Asian Games. For a player who took up the sport as an NCC cadet in 2018, being part of the Asian Games team itself has been a surreal experience. "Let alone winning a medal, that I am part of the Asian Games team is a dream," she told this daily after the win.
For Elavenil, it was cathartic. She had been knocking on the doors of greatness in shooting but somehow the success had been eluding her. On the day, she ensured that the process she trusted bore fruit. "I'm grateful that I was selected in the first place and this medal means a lot to me," she said.
Mixed Martial Arts gave India its first medal but it's shooting that India would be banking on for a rich medal haul.
