I find it amusing: Tejaswini Sawant

How do you look at becoming the first women shooter from India to win the Gold at World Championships?
This hasn’t come overnight. It was a process of planning and then implementing for over 18 months. My personal coach Kuheli Ganguly has worked a lot with me throughout my career. The national rifle shooting coach Stanislav Lapidus helped me in my positions and mental trainer Vaibhav Agashe kept my focus intact. If not for their assistance, would not have achieved this.

Also, I don’t come from an influential background, so the economical hardships are something that could have easily taken me away from sports. The sponsors made sure my talent isn’t wasted and the Olympic Gold Quest’s support has been crucial.

Women’s shooting in India isn’t talked about much. What is the reason?
I agree. I find it amusing that I am the first woman shooter to win gold at World Championships because the talent that we have is amazing. Anjali (Vedpathak Bhagwat), Deepika (Patel), Kuheli (Ganguly), Suma di (Shirur) and many others are really good. It is their experience that helped me over a period of time. I can say that probably they weren’t as lucky as I am to have experienced shooters guiding them. If not for their contribution, I would not have got to where I am.

Is the infrastructure readily available?
Shooting is an expensive sport. I mean Anjali managed to hit peaks with whatever we had. Suma is a world record holder. But let me tell you the competition we have amongst ourselves is tremendous. Check our trial scores for the world championship qualifiers and you will find so many of us tied for 2nd and third position. I would not blame the infrastructure for not being in the limelight.

So this win can be the changing agent?
Yes. The attitude of people, sponsors will definitely change. Women shooters will be looked upon with respect and of course that will bring along expectations too.

With the win you got a sponsorship from Walther equipments, how will that help you?
I have used Walther equipments for a long time now so this (sponsorship) will be a big boost. Not that before this sponsorship I didn’t have best equipments at my disposal. But then I had to plan out my budget for equipments according to my sponsors’ help. But with Walther that constraint is eased out.

How did you survive this expensive sport?
The support from various quarters was always there, but then the situation at home wasn’t too conducive. I was taking huge amounts of sponsorship but not able to achieve enough to make ends meet at home. Also, after a point it was getting embarrassing to keep on asking for sponsorships. But my family pushed me to pursue my passion, keep my focus intact and forget about the constraints.

What was the last thought you had before shooting the winning shot?
I told myself that ‘Teju, hit this shot and meet the record, it is now or never’. The moment I hit the inner 10, a loud applause greeted me. First I thought it was from the Indian section of the spectators, but the applause grew louder. So, I realised that I have definitely finished in the top three. It was not until I came out of the hall that I came to know about the gold medal.

How did you keep your cool before shooting the all important shot?
I listen to soft music to calm down my nerves. I am hyperactive and chirpy. I can’t sit in one place and stop at something. But listening to Jagjit Singh and Kishore Kumar helps me chill. So, I listened to an assortment of the two singers and see, here I am.

What next…
Commonwealth and Asian Games are my priority. We should reap the most at the CWG, since it will be held in our own country. The World Cup in Sydney next year will be crucial to qualify for London Olympics.