‘Absence of role models making shooting unattractive’

KARACHI: The absence of role models is one of the key reasons why shooting in the country is less attractive to people.
There are not more than 300 professional shooters in the country. “This is a real problem here. We don’t find anyone in this sport who can attract new people because of their achievements,” said Usman Chand, who is a new sensation in Pakistan shooting.
He said that people were not coming in this sport because of many reasons and having nobody as attraction was among the reasons. “I worked hard to bring 15 new people to my shooting range after I started winning at national level,” he added.
The country’s most celebrated shooter Dr Inamullah Gandapur seconded this view. “This sport is not progressing in Pakistan and limited access is the biggest reason. Our talent doesn’t get to take it at professional level,” he said.
He said there was need to run this sport on professional level without any restrictions. “If we want to produce role models we have to adopt a professional approach. I am trying my best to train our youth so that they can become high-achievers,” added Inam, who also runs a shooting club in Peshawar.
He said he could not become a world champion but he had the capability to produce world champions, and for that he needed support and freedom.
Ahmed Sultan, another renowned shooter, has a bit different view. “I think it’s more than lack of facilities that is conducive in making this sport unattractive for masses. Shooting is in our culture. People really want to come and play it. But due to lack of facilities they don’t make it to the professional level. “Moreover, it is not easy to meet the requirements to play at the Olympics and regional levels,” reasoned Ahmed.
He said Pakistan has a lot of talent but this talent fails to come up due to the absence of facilities. “India facilitated its shooters to win medals at the Olympics. So this is simply a case of facilitation,” added Ahmed.
Executive Vice President National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP) Razi Ahmed Khan has completely different views. “This sport doesn’t have role models, but this is not an issue. In last 100 years only two people have won Olympic medals twice, so this sport is not like other sports,” said Razi.
On the other hand, with currently more than 2000 professional athletes India is to become one of the biggest powerhouses of shooting in the coming years.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore became the first Indian athlete in 2004 to win an individual Olympic silver medal in any sport since 1900. He was also the gold medalist in double trap category in World Cups of 2004 and 2006.
Abhinav Bindra won World Championship in 10m air rifle category in 2006 and became Olympic champion in 2008.
Rifle shooter Anjali Bhagwat is regarded as one of the country’s greatest female athletes of all time.
Anjali won 2003 World Cup with a world record score. She has won 31 gold, 23 silver, and seven bronze medals, including 12 Commonwealth Games titles. Heena Sidhu won gold medal in 10m air pistol category in World Cup 2013.