Will be able to participate in Tokyo only if a miracle happens, claims Gagan Narang
Gagan Narang has stated that his qualification for the Olympics will depend on his ability to perform well in upcoming events and chalked down his qualification for the Asian Championships as possible only in the case of a miracle. He further discussed his students and how training them helps him.
Having taken an eight month hiatus from the sport last year citing not enough motivation to perform for the same, Gagan Narang has returned to the shooting circuit and will be looking forward to returning to his best with the Olympics fast approaching.
“I have started training, Tokyo will happen or not, only the upcoming competitions will tell me,” the 36-year-old was reported saying by Scroll.in.
He has already participated in the last four Olympics and had managed to win the bronze in the London edition seven years ago. He has had a highly successful career involving multiple World Cup gold medals as well as triumphs in the Commonwealth and the Asian Games. Even though he has been out of practice, a shooter of his stature can still make it to the Olympics if he puts his heart into it.
“Next month we have the selection trials and if a miracle happens I will get selected for the Asian Championships. From thereon, we will take a different route altogether. I am working for a miracle to happen. There are a few things that I am working on. There are a few competitions lined up over the next few months or so. My participation at the Tokyo Games will depend on the kind of results I have at these events,” he said.
Narang in his time off has been grooming young shooters in the country to help take the sport forward. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee had established the Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation following a successful Commonwealth Games campaign in 2010 and has been awarded the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award from the President for driving the sport forward in the country. His proteges have found great success, with 20-year-old Elavenil Valarivan winning a gold medal in the ongoing ISSF World Cup.
“I don’t think that affects my personal shooting. Take for example the case of Ela or Shreya , sometimes they shoot 28 and tell me that ‘sir I have shot 28’. Then my challenge is to shoot 29. So it kind of keeps you focussed. I can’t be more happy when kids from the academy shoot better than me. Each day is a learning curve,” he concluded on the matter.