Ballabhgarh academy fuelling dreams

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, September 28

As the men’s 10m air pistol team comprising Shiva Narwal, Sarabjot Singh and Angad Singh Cheema clinched the gold medal at the Asian Games, a small shooting academy in Haryana’s Ballabhgarh erupted in celebrations.

Shiva is the latest trainee from the 10X Shooting Academy in Faridabad district to find international success. Shiva’s elder brother Manish is a Paralympics gold medallist. Manish and another para-shooter from the academy, Nihal Singh, have already secured berths for the Paris Games. The youngest of the Narwal siblings, Shikha, too is an international shooter at the junior level.

The siblings started to train under coach Rakesh Thakur in 2015. “Shiva and Shikha picked up the sport after their elder brother,” Thakur said. When the academy started, it had no electronic targets and the trainees had to make do with paper targets. Over time, Thakur bought some electronic targets, while others also pitched in. “We only take range charges at the academy. The shooters’ parents are the reason the academy is still functioning. They are very generous,” said Thakur, who was a national-level shooter.

“Running an academy is no mean feat. The monthly expenses are around Rs 80,000. But we are still here and hopefully we will prosper,” he added.

No recognition

Over 20 shooters from Thakur’s academy are part of different core groups of the Indian team. Thakur, though, is yet to get any recognition from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). “The only recognition came in the way of a cash prize of Rs 45 lakh from the Haryana Government. I have never earned this much in my life,” he said.

“For NRAI to take notice, you need to be a high-profile shooter, like an international medallist. I never progressed beyond the national championships,” he added.