The clock had struck 8.00 pm local time when the extravagant opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games - splashed with music and dance, culture and colour under a starry night sky - enthralled almost 80,000 spectators at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium a fortnight ago.
A kurta-clad hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and a saree-draped boxing champ Lovlina Borgohain (the flag bearers) led the 100-odd Indian contingent into the decked-up arena. Away from the deafening extravaganza, a few Indians of other disciplines were busy going about their pre-match day routines or already fast asleep by then at the Games village.
“I have no idea what time the opening ceremony began,” said Ramita Jindal.
That’s how zoned out the 19-year-old was in order to zone in before her event began early next morning.
“I had dinner at 7.00 pm and went for a short walk. By 8.30 pm I was in bed because I had to wake up at 5.00 am to catch a 6.00 am bus to the shooting venue that was an hour’s drive for my event scheduled at 8.30 am,” added the junior world champion.
Boring as this might sound, such monotonous routines and lonely practice hours are principal contributors to success in a sport with limited physical movement and confidence that is quiet in a zen-like atmosphere.
And for Ramita, a teen from Ladwa - a village in Haryana - all these factors aligned nicely for her to clinch a silver medal in the women’s 10m air rifle team event along with team-mates Mehuli Ghosh and Ashi Chouksey. The trio’s exploits set the ball rolling for ‘mission 100’ - India’s total medal target for this edition of the Asiad.
A hundred medals? Over ambitious? Jumping the gun? Such doubts and more were all quelled as the shooters went on to hunt down a whopping 22 medals (7 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze) over the next few days in the Chinese city and better the previous best haul of 15 medals at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.
The 33 members of a young Indian shooting squad not only had a point to prove to themselves but carried the burden of turning into bouquets the brickbats the sport received following its debacle at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago.
Racking up medals sure felt special but there were victories that went beyond the metal around their necks. Two world records were broken. First in the 10m air rifle men’s team comprising Rudrankksh Patil, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Divyansh Singh Pawar before Sift Kaur Samra achieved the feat in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions. A 17-year-old Palak Gulia not only became the youngest shooter to win a gold but did it in style by shattering the Asian Games mark in the women’s 10m air pistol individual event.
There was more in store. Medals came in events India had never won before -- the country’s first double podium finish came from the shooting range, the first multiple medal winner for India at this edition was a shooter and a first one-two finish on the podium. Esha Singh, 18, and 22-year-old Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar became the most successful among the contingent as the duo returned home with four medals each.
Taking note of everything that transpired over the first week in Hangzhou, Olympic medal-winning shooter and Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) vice-president, Gagan Narang termed the medal haul spectacular.
“22 is a big number. It has set a benchmark for Indian shooting,” said the 40-year-old to DHoS.
Narang, a bronze medallist at the London 2012 Olympics, is not new to the fluctuating fortunes of a sport where margin for errors is razor thin. “While we celebrate the winners, there is no discounting the efforts of the near-misses. It’s time we focus on specific events and convert the 4th and 5th positions into medals,” he offered.
Going back to a few weeks before the contingent flew to China, a first-of-its-kind ‘war room’ was set-up at the Karni Singh shooting range in Delhi. Creating a simulated match environment, the shooters’ breathing patterns, heart beat, mind/body reactions in pressure situations were monitored to better understand and chalk strategies to minimise their impact and optimise performance during actual competition.
“The idea is to help shooters get into the zone, understand pressure situations better. I did these mental training exercises as well during my active shooting career. Right now, things have been organised in a sleek manner,” said Narang about the war room.
The sheer number of medals won here is sure to boost the confidence of the competitors who will be busy chasing Olympic quotas in the coming months. But in the broader perspective, their show in Hangzhou isn’t a dipstick for Paris, cautioned Narang.
It might come across as cynical at a time when we need to celebrate. But high expectations at the Olympics following great outings at multi-sporting events such as the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in the past have only resulted in disappointments for the sport. Hence, a word of caution.
“We must remember that not all the events played at Asiad are a part of the Olympics. I would say the Asian Championships next month is the real test. There are several quotas up for grabs. Every shooter, who has not won a quota yet will try to peak in that. As for the rest, they will dive into the roadmap laid out by their coaches,” explained Narang.
So far, seven shooters - Bhowneesh Mendiratta (men’s trap), Rudrankksh Patil (men’s 10m air rifle), Swapnil Kusale and Akhil Sheoran (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions), Mehuli Ghosh (women’s 10m air rifle), Sift Kaur Samra (women’s 50m rifle 3 positions) and Rajeshwari Kumari (women’s trap) - have won quota places for Paris.
There are 292 days left before thousands of athletes parade on boats along the Seine river that flows through Paris during the opening ceremony of the next Olympics.
A unique, never-done-before drill that most sportspersons are keenly looking forward to. How many more Indian shooters will realise that dream will be decided over the next few months.
Based on what we witnessed in Hangzhou, though, the French capital looks like a promising battle ground for the Indian men and women ready with well-oiled ammunition.
Until then and mostly even then, it’s back to the boring stuff - being day larks, listening to the same playlist for weeks, doing breathing exercises, talking to themselves during solitary walks to stay in the present, to stay calm and to remain in the zone.