According to the ace rifleman-turned-mentor who has been there and has done so, a little luck may also play a role, the most notable of which was his bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
“In our time, in our early days, we used to think of making the finals first, then playing in the next games, but this team is looking to win medals. It is a strong team and I am better than that. There is a lot of performance expected from our shooters,” Narang told PTI during a chat.
Referring to the change in mindset of the current shooters, he said, “Most of them have gained a lot of experience to participate and win at various levels including the ISSF World Cup.”
The multiple ISSF World Cup gold medalist emphasized the focus and said that the reality is that the Olympics are and are the most difficult challenges in an athlete’s career to face.
Narang gave training tips to his most successful partner through regular video calls and messages. elavenil valarivan, prior to his first appearance at the Olympics.
During his long training-cum-competition stint in Croatia with the Indian shooting team for the Tokyo Games, Narang tried to give useful tips to the 21-year-old extremely talented shooter who would participate together. Apurvi Chandel In the women’s 10m air rifle event.
The champion shooter said, “Yes, we are in touch via video call and I have been talking to Ella (as her well-known people call her) about preparations for the Games and all other important aspects. ”
The Olympics are scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8, with the shooting events starting a day after the opening ceremony and covering the first 10 days of the extravaganza, which will be held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coming back to the challenges of competing in the world’s biggest sporting event and the advice given to Elavenil, Narang said, “Look, there’s no doubt that the Olympics are very tough. The difficulty is real, and my job was to prepare for that. To face reality.”
Considered one of the finest rifle shooters of the country, Narang is curious about the impact of the upcoming Games for Indian shooters.
Asked specifically about Elavenil, he said the Ahmedabad-based shooter completed seven years of training under him on July 14.
Nothing would make her more happy than to see him on the podium six days after the first day of competition at the Games.
She has been world number one in her pet event since December 2019, although there haven’t been many competitions since then due to the pandemic.
Acquainted with the sport at the age of 12, Elavenil won his first gold medal at the age of 13, before going on to win at the national level.
She then came under Narang’s wings and Suhal and won gold medals at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney.
In 2019, she burst onto the senior shooting scene, winning gold medals at Putin and the Rio de Janeiro ISSF World Cup. Since then, there has been no looking back for this rifle shooter.
Narang, who is also hopeful of an Indian finishing on the podium in mixed events, said a lot “will depend on how everything turns out someday”.
In Tokyo, India will be represented by a record 15 shooters who have been able to win medals at the highest level of the sport after exceptional performances in recent years.
After winning four medals in the previous three Olympics, the country’s shooting team secured a vacant spot at the 2016 Rio Games.
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