When you get to the Olympics, you need a different level of mental stability, says Abhishek Verma
Abhishek Verma, who clinched his second World Cup gold medal last week in Rio, admits that it would require a different level of mental stability to succeed at the Olympics. Verma secured his place at Tokyo 2020 by winning the 10m air pistol gold medal at the Beijing World Cup in April this year.
In Rio, Abhishek had shot 244.2 to win his second yellow metal in the same event this year, beating Turkey’s Ismail Keles (243.1) and teammate Saurabh Chaudhary (221.9). The Indian also bagged a silver with Yashaswini Singh Deswal in mixed 10m air pistol, but Abhishek is not about to let his guard down just yet. In fact, ahead of the year-end World Cup finals in Putian, China, he is preparing for some yoga lessons to prepare to fulfil the hopes of an Olympic medal next year.
“Shooting is more mental than physical. So for the Olympics, we will need mental confidence and stability of a different level. So I plan to do mental exercises, yoga and meditation as preparation for the Games. I need to work on my overall training technique but the main focus will be on mental calmness. When you are in the final and all are shouting from the back, at that time you can lose focus and that is when you get a 9 or 8, so I need to focus on that,” Abhishek told PTI.
A record 14 Indian rifle and pistol shooters have earned the right to compete in the World Cup finals scheduled between November 17 and 23. India boasts one of the youngest shooting teams in the world currently, and Abhishek believes that healthy competition can only mean well for the country.
“It is a good opportunity because there is such tough competition at home only. It gives us confidence and exposure. From Asian Games, I and Sourabh are roommates in every training camp, every competition, so we discuss our experiences all the time and it helps improve each other’s performance. World Cup finals happens once every two years. This time we have a big team qualifying so we will look to produce a better performance than Rio,” he said.
However, Abhishek himself was a relatively late bloomer in the sport. He pursued engineering first, and law after that while spending his time as a hobby shooter in one of the shooting ranges at Hisar.
“When a shooting range opened in Hisar, Haryana, I joined it as a hobby. I used to go for 30-40 minutes but the focus was on law only. But as I was about to complete law, my scores in shooting had improved a lot. I played in a state event and got a gold and that gave me confidence that I can do well,” he said.
“So after completing law, in 2017, I decided to give shooting my everything for a year. I claimed gold in the 50m North Zone, then at the Nationals, I got a silver in the civilian category. After that, I scored well in trials and finals and I was in the Indian squad. In 2018, my aim was to get into the squad but I also won a medal at Asian Games, so I was getting things extra. So after that, I had decided that shooting is all I would do now,” Abhishek added.
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