India had a proud moment in the recently held ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany as Adriyan Karmakar clinched a silver medal in the 50m rifle prone shooting.
India had a proud moment in the recently held ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany as Adriyan Karmakar clinched a silver medal in the 50m rifle prone shooting. A moment that goes down in history saw the junior champion take another step towards fulfilling his father’s dream of winning an Olympic medal.
However, with 50m rifle prone shooting no longer part of the Olympics, it has still not stopped young Adriyan from climbing new heights. He recently spoke to WION as he reflected on the epic journey towards glory and how his father has played a key role.
“It was a surreal experience. It was definitely, I could see how much I'd worked so hard for this and now, finally, the moment had come, right as my preparation and everything was going all right. I had new equipment, so I was taking some time to actually get settled into the new equipment,” Adriyan said while speaking to WION’s Aditya Pimpale.
“Also, what happens with that equipment is, the weather from Delhi, we had a camp in Delhi, which averages around 30-40 degrees, and we went to Suhl, Germany, which had two in the morning, like two degrees in the morning. So, definitely, the material changes, it was difficult for the Indian team to, you know, use the equipment control too,” the star shooter added.
India had a successful 2024 Paris Olympics where it won three medals in shooting including a brace from Manu Bhaker. Like Bhaker, Adriyan’s father also represented India at the Olympics, securing the fourth spot in men’s 50m rifle prone shooting. But with the event out of the Olympic calendar, he will hope to win the event at the senior level. He also reflected on his father’s role in helping him grow as a shooter.
“He has been there since starting, obviously. And he has seen my journey more or less. And he has been my biggest supporter. Like, whenever I used to feel down about a match or anything, he used to guide me toward the perfect mindset. And I feel like I really got an edge over the shooting thing. And a lot of people, they need to, you know, hit roadblocks and everything to gain new information and everything.
“But I really hit the jackpot at that because I grew up with him giving me advice and building my mindset for a perfect shooter,” Adriyan added.
Adriyan was also thankful to the Reliance Foundation which helped set the platform for his success. RF provided Adriyan with all the required support and infrastructure to achieve his goal and stands firm as he aims big for the nation in the time to come.