'Felt as if I had lost someone very close after finishing 4th in Paris': Babuta

Losing an Olympic medal by a few decimal points could be among the most anguishing experiences in life and Arjun Babuta who missed the bronze in finals of mens 10m air rifle at the Paris Olympics 2024 by a whisker on Saturday described the moment as if he had lost someone very closeThe Chandigarhbased Babuta who joined a handful of nearlythere Indian athletes to finish fourth in the Olympics said the feeling could not be explained in wordsI did put in the effort in the runup to Paris and I went numb the moment I looked at the screen which showed I had finished fourth It felt like I lost somebody very close to me in my life the 25yearold rifle marksman told PTI in an interaction on SaturdayI didnt know how to react I was crying immediately I was laughing immediately I was again crying while talking So I really didnt know what to do about it the India rifle ace winner of two World Cup gold and a top podium finish in the Asian Championships saidIt was not so great feeling I was deserving a medal I would say he kept repeatingSince a very young age Babuta has been through an entire gamut of hardships mdash mostly healthrelated mdash where he had to leave shooting for three years 20182020 to tend to his back problemOne of the biggest health issues that rifle exponents face is in the backbone which takes a lot of punishment because of the awkward stance of the shootersThat was a very difficult phase for sure I felt very alone during that time because everybody is only there when you are performing well but only few people are there who support you during your low phase I was going through the pain of my back injury and my personal life was not great either the marksman saidIt was like I had hit rock bottom But his mother was a pillar of strength taking him to Patiala every single day for seven monthsMy mother she used to travel with me to Patiala from Chandigarh daily for my physiotherapy for seven months We used to go in the evening around 6pm because the doctor was there from 8 pm onwards And we used to come back home around 1am it was a tough phase The mind kept reminding Babuta that his redemption was in returning to the firing lane as quickly as possible and he was back in 2020I used to just keep thinking about how to get back to the lane how I kept my emotions in check while driving the car daily to Patiala from Chandigarh only I know how I have overcome that dark phase said the youngsterAlso Read Hope is slowly fading away Babuta on lack of support from Punjab governmentWith countless hours spent at the range Babuta eventually realised his dream of making it to Paris Olympics 2024 but he says that had he planned a bit more he could have won goldI did try my best So many months went into planning I would say that this is part of destiny as well to finish fourth Babuta has been able to zero in on the reason which led to him finishing fourth and says he will be more careful in upcoming competitionsI should have given some more emphasis on equipment check and equipment furnishing I would say that I did try to get my pellets tested in Germany and Pune and all that but I didnt get the chance to practice a lot with those pelletsSo that is the thing I can work on for my upcoming competitions to get my pellets tested well in advance and practice with them a lot so that I have clarity about them I think I would have easily won gold that day in Paris I was so focused I was in a such a great frame of mind during the competitionI would say that day and technically also I was just doing great but it was not destined to be that day But yeah I can work on the equipment check and ammunition and all that for the next few competitions Testing the ammunition and equipment is cumbersome but one has to get used to it The World Cup Final in round the corner and Babuta is one of the few Indians competing in the elite yearend tournament The event is scheduled at the Karni Singh Ranges here from October 13There are a few things that I wanted to experiment for a long time And I got the opportunity to compete in the World Cup Final and looking forward to experiment those basically approach this competition in a way that I can deliver my best he addedWith agency inputs