‘Maharashtra’s gun culture yet to catch up with North’

As Indian shooters make history at the Paris Olympics this month bagging a bestever haul of three medals no onersquos watching more keenly or cheering more loudly than the next generation of talent back home in IndiaMuch of this young talent is from Mumbai from where dozens of shooters have qualified for the nationals in the last few years The city has long been renowned for its association with sports predominantly cricket Since the mid2000s however there has been a noticeable surge in interest in shooting and multiple shooting ranges began to mushroom across the length and breadth of the city Today the Mumbai Metropolitan Region houses around 20 shooting ranges Most are equipped with stateoftheart facilities and have seen a significant rise in participation from Mumbaikars over the yearsVahbiz Patel an emerging rifle shooter from Mumbai currently preparing for national team trials takes aim at Gold Vision Shooting Academy in Goregaon during practice PicsAtul KambleThis burgeoning interest can be traced back to several shooters from the state rising to prominence in the early 2000s such as former world number one in the 10m air rifle category Anjali Bhagwat 2004 Olympic finalist Suma Shirur and Commonwealth medallists like Ronak Pandit The recent success of Kolhapur shooter Swapnil Kusale who became the first Indian to win a bronze in the menrsquos 50m rifle 3position kneeling prone and standing event on Thursday is only likely to further excite youngsters in the city Manu Bhaker too while not from Maharashtra has inspired many women in the state with her feat of becoming Indiarsquos first woman shooter to bag an Olympic medal last weekWith comprehensive coaching being disbursed across the city Mumbai shooters are currently training their sights on trials for the national team One such promising talent is Parth Mane 16 a 10m air rifle shooter who trains at Lakshya Shooting Club run by ace shooter Suma Shirur in Navi MumbaiNishank Jain a pistol shooter at Champions Shooting Range takes aim with an air pistol during daily practiceItrsquos a crucial year for Mane Not only do his hopes to represent India at international competitions rest on his performance at the ongoing team trials but the Class 12 student also has to prepare for his board exams in February 2025 After attending classes at Mahatma Phule Arts Science and Commerce College in Panvel the science student spends a minimum of four hours practising at the shooting range every dayHersquos been through this grind before He recalls his Class 10 board exam preparations saying ldquoSince I was training for international competitions then I had to put in a lot of training hours a couple of months before the examsrdquo The Board exams are inescapable but fortunately for any other exams that clash with his matches his school allows him to appear for them laterAnkit Jain shooter and coach during a shooting session at Champions Shooting Range in Andheri East He has been playing the sport for over thirteen years and has won over a dozen medals at nationallevel tournaments PicsShadab KhanItrsquos a tough balancing act but the effort has paid off so far Since his first brush with the sport at a school summer camp eight years ago the teenager has bagged individual and team gold medals at the Asian Airgun Championship 2022 in Daegu South Korea an individual silver at the ISSF World Cup 2024 in Spain individual bronze and team silver at the Asian Shooting Championship 2024 in Jakarta Indonesia and team gold at the ISSF Junior World Championship 2023 in Changwon South Korea along with eight nationallevel titlesldquoI started training in Solapur When my father was transferred to Pune I got to practise at the Balewadi Sports Complex which is a much bigger facility Then my father was transferred again to Panvel where I have been honing my skills for the last three yearsrdquo he saysKolhapurbased shooter Swapnil Kusale at the Paris Olympics where he bagged a bronze medal on Thursday bringing Indiarsquos total medal tally to threeAlthough the governmentrun 80lane range at Balewadi is larger Mane says training has been more thorough in Panvel where he gets personal coaching from Olympian Suma Shirur ldquoMy routine involves physio sessions workouts mental routines and a strict dietrdquo says Parth The mental routine includes meditation and visualisation While practising ldquovisualisationrdquo he envisions himself perfectly aiming at 60 shots in upcoming matches ldquoThat bit prepares me mentally for the matchesrdquo he says adding that he believes shooting is 90 per cent a mental endeavour and 10 per cent physical and tacticalHis love for the sport is such that it ldquonever feels like workrdquo to him ldquoI donrsquot generally need time off But after the Team India trials there is an offseason period until the national games during which there will be a break of around three months when no competitions will take place I plan to relax for a fortnight then before getting back to my training againrdquo he saysMumbaibased junior shooter Ira Mahadik a Class 9 student takes aim at her shooting academy in Goregaon She has been playing the sport for past two years and is competing at the state levelDespite his excellence in the sport and the support he has received from family coaches and his school Mane feels that shooting sports in India have not received adequate recognition ldquoI am hoping this will change following the OlympicsrdquoClass 9 student Ira Mahadik a statelevel shooter who trains at the GoldVision Shooting Academy in Goregaon West echoes this sentiment ldquoI feel that Maharashtra can significantly improve in shooting sports The awareness about careerlevel shooting is low here especially in Mumbai I think Pune stands out as one of the best cities for shooting in the state Here the participation is good but the level of seriousness is still lacking If more people take the sport seriously we can win more medalsrdquo she saysBronze medalists Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh pose during the Shooting 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team medal ceremony at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 PicGetty ImagesNo city becomes a sports hub without great coaches and Mumbai has its own set of dedicated athletes and coaches who have strived to discover and hone the best talent When shooting started to pick up in Mumbai in the 2000s two stalwartsmdash Dronacharya awardee Sanjay Chakravarty and former Maharashtra Rifle Association president Bhishmaraj Bammdashare credited with honing some of the statersquosmdashand Indiarsquosmdashfinest talentChakravarty trained ace shooters such as Abhinav Bindra Gagan Narang Bhagwat and Shirur as well as Deepali Deshpande Anuja Jung and Ayonika Paul He also served as Indiarsquos national coach in his career spanning 40 years Bam who was a sports psychology expert also worked with Indiarsquos ace shooters right up to the Olympic level Under their tutelage Maharashtra produced seven Olympians between 2000 and 2016Chandrashekhar Dake and Coach Pritam SinghMany of their proteacutegeacutes have gone on to establish their own shooting ranges and are now coaching the next wave of talent Lakshya Shooting Club run by 2004 Olympic finalist Suma Shirur and her husband Siddharth Shirur has produced several nationallevel players from Navi MumbaiSiddharth discovered an interest in shooting through his wife An architect by training today he also manages a network of shooting ranges in Navi Mumbai The shooting scene in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai is pretty much run by private enterprises he says except for the Maharashtra Rifle Associationrsquos MRA range at WorliIndiarsquos first Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra after winning the menrsquos 10m air rifle shooting finals for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games PicGetty ImagesThe MRA range is one of only two fullfledged venues in the state that offer 50m air gun ranges The other is Punersquos Balewadi Sports Complex which is one of the biggest setups in Maharashtra and also features a hightech trap shooting range Balewadi is where Swapnil Kusale had trained for the 50m category ahead of the OlympicsThanks to high cost of real estate in Mumbai most centres in the city have 10m ranges An official from the Maharashtra Rifle Association explains that establishing new 50m shooting ranges in Mumbai is particularly challenging because of lack of available space ldquoIt is really difficult to set up a new 50m range in Mumbai as there is no open space that can accommodate it The range we have in Worli was established approximately 70 years ago when land rates were cheap Today it would require an investment of hundreds of crores just to acquire land for the rangerdquo says the officialK Sultan Singh secretary general NRAIPrivate ranges have given a muchneeded fillip to the sport along with the efforts of the National Rifle Association of Indiarsquos NRAI role in bringing visibility to the sport says Shirur ldquoThey NRAI have facilitated the setting up of many ranges across the country and they never say no to any club coming up Initiatives like Khelo India a government programme to revive sports at the grassroots level which started in 2018 are helping a lot of underprivileged kids pursue shooting sportsrdquo he addsShirur recalls a time in in the mid2000s when their academy had not yet been established and his wife was training for international competitions ldquoAround 20 shooters would come to our house to train for around eight hours a day Their coaching would happen simultaneously Now there are over a dozen shooting academies in MMR with ultrahightech ranges in the Vasai and Virar too This became possible because of a mix of private and government enterprisesrdquo he saysK Sultan Singh secretary general NRAI told midday ldquoYou also have to look at these sports from the point of view of compliances of Arms Act and statersquos law and order issuesrdquoldquoThe ranges have to be supported by trained and certified coaches mind trainers and other support personnel Itrsquos not a regular sport like football or cricket Many government permissions are required to set up a range and acquire firearms too If there is ever a proposal to set up a bigger range in Mumbai where even shotgun sports can be played NRAI would definitely support the state associations and the clubs from all perspectives But the associationrsquos role comes only after all the permissions are granted by the state governmentrdquo he saysReal estate is not the only financial hurdle faced by shooting which is counted among the most expensive sports in the world The entry barrier for shooting is much higher compared to other sports due to the cost of equipment and the need for proper facilities ldquoIf you play cricket you can do jugaad and use bricks as stumps at the beginner level You can practise in the gullies But shooting requires sophisticated equipment and a proper venuerdquo says ShirurAditya Rastogi a 10m air pistol shooter and coach explains the cost factor ldquoOne can rent a gun at R7000 per month in air pistol shooting while the rental rates for air rifles vary from R12000 to R60000 per month The most expensive is shotgun sportsrdquo says Rastogi calling it a sport of Maharajas ldquoTraining costs for trap shooting can go up to R1 lakh per month if one trains six to seven times per month which is low frequencyrdquo he addsRastogi who hails from Meerut but has been training students in Mumbai for over three years says space and a thriving gun culture is why more shooters from North India have made it to the top ldquoThere are more gun ranges up North Plus there is the advantage of private farms where people can practicerdquoNationallevel shooter Ankit Jain who has been competing in the 10m air pistol category since 2011 agrees with this ldquoAnyone who has the privilege of a personal range will become twice as good at the sport because of 24x7 access to a training venue In Mumbai shooters in the suburbs have it tough since itrsquos not easy to travel to MRArsquos 50m facility in Worlirdquo he saysThis is the reason why most kids who pick this sport hail from middleclass backgrounds he says ldquoA sport like shooting requires equipment and formal coaching Kids from weaker economic backgrounds are more likely to pick sports for which the least amount of equipment is required like Taekwondo or footballrdquo he addsJain who has won over a dozen medals at the state and national levels is also the owner and coach at Champions Shooting Range at Andheri East Powai and Chembur On the operational aspect he explains ldquoOpening a private academy requires multiple permissions from the forest department as there is a forest in close vicinity in Mumbai Aarey The range owners also need permission from the local police station Both these processes are smooth in Mumbai if the intent is rightrdquoJain had started the academy with just seven students in 2018 but now each of his ranges are brimming with around 40 students children and adults alikeJain emphasises that shooting might seem easy but the muscles should be acclimated to long exposure to strain and stress as one needs to stand absolutely still in fixed target shooting ldquoOne must practise sports like gymnastics and yoga which build muscle endurancerdquo he saysMany kids who join his academy are inspired by action movies ldquoSome even ask if they can shoot with both hands like John Wickrdquo he laughsMost kids though join the sport because of Abhinav Bindra who made history when he won the menrsquos 10m air rifle competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics becoming the first Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal in any sport Ask any young shooter who their inspiration is and theyrsquoll likely name BindraNationallevel player Vahbiz Patel 21 is no different ldquoI was inspired by two shootersmdashBindra and Ivana Maksimovi Anuscaroni from Serbia who won silver at the 2012 Olympics I watched them on TV for the first time when I was just five years oldrdquo says the 10m air rifle shooter who is also pursuing a correspondence college degree from Mumbai UniversityldquoEven if I werenrsquot enrolled in a correspondence degree I would still be practising five to seven hours every dayrdquo she saysStruggle is inevitable and even Kusale and fellow medalwinners Manu Bhaker and Sarabjit Singh had their own share of it before winning at the Paris Olympics The Indian shooting teamrsquos triumph comes after a medal drought in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Tokyo Games ldquoA shooterrsquos journey is a series of defeats before tasting victory We have been following Bhakerrsquos and Kusalersquos efforts at other tournaments Their persistence despite past defeats inspires us No medal at the competition doesnrsquot break a shooterrsquos spirit We keep goingrdquo says PatelShe is one of five students from Gold Vision Shooting Academy in Goregaon West that are currently appearing for the national team trials The rangersquos owner and coach Pritam Singh says Mumbai has plenty of potential highlighting that 18 of his students have qualified for nationallevel tournaments But the potential is not necessarily being harnessed to the optimum levelldquoGiven that Maharashtra has plenty of infrastructure and capital it can aim for more medals But most students who pick up shooting here see it as a leisure activity rather than a career In northern states such as Punjab Haryana Delhi UP and Rajasthan on the other hand the gun culture is more seriousrdquo Singh adds Singh is now considering setting up another gun range in a village 35 km from Pune as he believes shooters in rural areas are more serious about the sport ldquoMost medallists in India are from rural areas or small towns and citiesrdquo he points outldquoKids in smaller towns and cities like Kolhapur Nashik and Sangli spend much more time honing their skills and are much more serious about the sport as they donrsquot have as many distractions as Mumbai kids do Whatrsquos required is more awareness about the sport in the staterdquo he addsMany coaches agree that while fostering gun culture is adverse to society but itrsquos also perhaps why the Northern states where gun toting is common are more serious about shooting sportsNationallevel shooter and coach at Champions Shooting Range Chandrashekhar Dake says ldquoMany people in cities like Mumbai refrain from putting their kids in shooting sports because they think it may make them violent But shooting is neither violent nor aggressive It is like meditation it can calm people down A lot of people with anger issues join this sportrdquoOriginally from Solapur Dake trained at Punersquos Balewadi range for a couple of years before winning at the nationals and eventually moved to Mumbai to coach youngsters He says there is plenty of talent in Mumbai but that comes along with plenty of distractions too ldquoJunk food is available everywhere and there are many other options for cocurricular activitiesrdquo he saysJain adds ldquoSome kids join shooting sports just for the certificates to pad up their resumes for college admissionsrdquoLakshya cofounder and secretary Shirur also highlights a cultural aspect that affects sports participation in Maharashtra ldquoIn Maharashtra sports take a backseat and academics take precedence Up north sportsrsquo prevalence is higher Here Mumbai you could play any sport but one question is always asked lsquoBut what are you studyingrsquo Most kids start shooting at the age of 10 which is the minimum official age to participate in competitions Many drop out of the sport at ages 1213 because of Class 10 boards In Southeast Asian countries a lot of medallists are between the ages of 1520 This is the exact age in Maharashtra when children stop going to ranges due to academicsrdquo he saysThatrsquos not to say that sportspersons should ignore academics Not everyone can make it to the Olympics level and education is a must so the players have a backup option he says ldquoI believe studies are important and one must get their bachelorrsquos degree but one can still pursue sports simultaneouslyrdquo he adds20No of shooting ranges in MMRA series of firsts thinspManu Bhaker opens the countryrsquos account at the Paris Games on July 28 with a bronze in the womenrsquos 10m air pistol event becoming Indiarsquos first woman shooter to bag an Olympic medal thinspBhaker and Sarabjot Singh win a Bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on July 30 making it Indiarsquos first medal in team shooting thinspBhaker also becomes the first Indian since Independence to win two medals at the same Olympics thinspSwapnil Kusale becomes the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in the menrsquos 50m rifle 3 positions event on August 1 thinspThis is also the first time India has won three medals in one sport at the same edition of the OlympicsShoot thatrsquos expensiveThe cost of training depends on several factors such as the type of shooting rifle pistol or shotgun the level of coaching and the location of the training facility10m category Renting an air pistol can cost approximately R7000 per month while air rifles can be rented for Rs 12000 to 60000 Rifle shooting also requires a body suit and other equipment25m category Gun users in this category require a formal sporting licence The gunrsquos rent is also higher at Rs 15000 per month Buying a gun can cost anywhere from Rs 80000 to lakhs of rupees thinspThere are also other expenses such as coaching fees range fees diet plans and costs associated with participation in competitions which can rack up a total cost of up to R40000 per month at minimum