Dhanush Srikanth, who won two gold medals and broke the world record with a score of 632.7 in 10m air rifle qualification and 251.7 in the final of the World deaf shooting championship in Hanover, Germany said that his ultimate goal is to represent India in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The 22-year-old Hyderabad shooter won two gold - in 10m air pistol individual and mixed team event along with Mahit Sandhu. Though he won gold in the team event as well, paucity of teams denied him a third.
A trainee of Gagan Narang's Gun For Glory academy here, Dhanush said that he is training hard for the 2028 Olympics. "My ultimate goal is to represent the country in the 2028 Olympics. I have been working hard on my game and I am delighted with this performance. But I want to compete in the regular category and win medals for the country," he said.
Dhanush's mother Asha said though they expected him to return with a medal, his world record score was a pleasant surprise. "We knew he would come with a medal. But we are happy that he broke the world record."
Dhanush also won two gold in the Deaflympics in 2022 in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. He also bagged a gold in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany last year.
"He won medals in Lima and Peru competing in the regular category. Narang wanted him to compete in the Deaflympics since no one from the country had won a medal. So he competed there. But he is keen to compete in the regular category and win medals," Asha added.
Dhanush trains at the Gun For Glory academies in Trimulgherry, Gachibowli and also in Chennai. His coach Neha Chavan sees him as a bright prospect for the Los Angeles Olympics., "He has been training for a long time for this tournament. He has won two gold in the Deaflympics. There is also the Deaflympics next year in Tokyo. That is also part of our plan. But our immediate priority is the Nationals that will be held in November. He will compete in both regular and deaf events as well.
"He is very dedicated and disciplined. He trains very hard in all aspects, be it technical or physical. He takes care of his nutrition. He always considered himself competing in the regular category and that's how we train him. He is a potential candidate for the 2028 Olympics," she added.
