PUNE: On a February morning in 2014, a young Divyansh Singh Panwar was excited beyond bounds. He was going to see ‘shooting’ with his father. The 12-year-old was dreaming of clicking pictures with film stars, but it all ended in a crash landing, when he reached the venue and saw a few men firing shots at the shotgun range.
When his father mentioned shooting, he understood then, it was not a film, but a sport.
“It spoiled my mood and I stayed grumpy all day. All I could hear was sounds of bullets breaking clays. I was very disappointed,” he told TOI at his residence in Jaipur in December 2019, when Covid had not hit the world and the Tokyo Games were scheduled in 2020.
After the visit, his father insisted he take up rifle shooting. With an Indian made rifle, he shot scores that would take him to the state team. But still, he didn’t have any interest in shooting, the sport.
“I shot because my father asked me to train till I qualified for the pre-nationals. I never had not set any target, I just shot to kill time,” he admitted. Little did he know that four years down the line, he would make it to the junior team and in 2019, he would clinch an Olympic quota.
In 2018, he shifted to Delhi to train under coach Deepak Kumar Dubey. “By then, I had already participated in two junior events. My day's routine changed completely, and I was suddenly disciplined. After shifting to Delhi with Dubey sir, I got engrossed in shooting completely. I got bored even during my two-day trips to home in Jaipur,” said India’s medal hope at the Olympics.
It was a meteoric rise for Divyansh, who shot the World Championships in 2018 as a junior shooter. It was then, he first learnt about the Olympic Games, and knew the possibility of participating in one. At the Tokyo Games, Divyansh will go as World No. 2.
“I was shooting in the junior category, but saw that seniors were winning quotas for the Olympics. I then asked about the Olympics and realised that even I can win a quota if I work hard. I got a mission. By the end of the year, I made it to the senior team and participated in my first senior meet, the World Cup in New Delhi, which offered Tokyo berths,” he recalled.
But it was anything, but a cakewalk and the Jaipur boy got his first taste of failure at a big event.
“Ahead of the Delhi World Cup, I told myself that quota to mil hi jayega, ghar pe event ho raha hai (I will have the home advantage and I will win the quota easily). I was overconfident and I had to pay the price as I failed to win in Delhi,” he said.
Nonetheless, he won the quota in his second senior World Cup, in Beijing, the next month. It was only after winning the quota, he started feeling the heat.
“The pressure increases after winning the quota. You must maintain the average to be in the ranks. There is a lot of calculation that you have to do. Pick and drop tournaments to maintain your scores. Make sure you don’t burnout, make double sure you slip in the team ranking,” said Divyansh, who has a gold at World Cup Finals along with a silver and a bronze at World Cups.
With Covid ruling out the possibility of spectators at the Games, Divyansh’s parents will not be able to witness their son shoot in person. However, he feels it is a blessing in disguise. “I find it better if the family is not travelling to watch my match. There is an added pressure when the family sits behind when you are shooting.”
Other than this, Divyansh feels pressure does good to him. “I create positive pressure for myself. I feel I shoot better under pressure. Yes, there are times when you feel negative pressure. I leave my rifle and take a break and talk with the coach to divert my mind.”
