Gagan Narang - Aiming to Become 'Gold Finger'
Gagan Narang is the only Indian athlete who will participate in as many as three events in Rio. The London Olympics Bronze medallist may not have displayed his deft touch in Air Rifle since 2012, but the former World No 1 has roared back to form in the last World Cup in Baku and he remains one of the top contenders to grab a medal in Rio in prone.
- Rica Roy
- Updated: August 01, 2016 12:57 pm IST
Full Name: Gagan Narang
Born: May 6, 1983
Sports: Shooting
Event: 10m air rifle, 50m three position and 50m prone position
Country: India
About Gagan Narang:
July 28, 2014 the day Gagan Narang says he was born again. Because that was the day he won his first 50-m prone medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth games.
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"I had spent almost two years looking for the right kind of ammunition," says Gagan," Unlike air rifle external factors are very important here. And it took a very long time, many hours of testing to find just the right batch."
For two years after his medal in London Olympics Gagan had struggled with neck, back and knee injuries, that proved to be a stumbling block.
Despite being a double gold medallist from the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and a world record holder, the Hyderabadi was dropped from the Air-rifle team in Glasgow. Which could have meant the end of the road for him. Gagan rose from the ashes once again.
"To be honest, many times I thought of quitting the sport. It was just not falling in place. By then I had slipped out of the Air Rifle team and the only way to redeem myself was by excelling in another event. I am grateful to the almighty that prone clicked for me," says Narang.
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The 33 year old says he cannot forget that summer day in Glasgow. He was in the lead after the second series in which he shot a perfect 10.9 but from there on he slipped to third. His biggest competitor was Australia's Warren Potent. The Hyderabadi briefly jumped to the second position after the 14th shot and from then onwards maintained his position in the last six shots.
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The contest for the yellow metal was intense with the Indian shooting a 10.8 in the penultimate shot. Potent could have been under tremendous pressure had he shot a low score, but the Australian came up with a 10 to have a lead of 0.6 points. Narang shot 10.2 in the last shot and Potent bettered him with a 10.3 to win the gold.
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The silver was the second coming of Gagan Narang. He ended the games with two medals, the highest for an Indian athlete from Glasgow. The second, a bronze, came from 50-m three position.
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This was return to form for the shooter who had struggled to get his mind and body in sync. He was the first one to book a quota place for the London games but to make the Rio cut took him three months after the quotas were opened. After the medal in Glasgow 2014, Gagan gathered himself and concentrated on getting better at he 50-m prone event. He got the result at the World Cup in Fort Benning last year, a bronze medal was followed by an Olympic quota place. And then he went onto break the national record for prone in SAF games.
"The two events are completely different. I still consider 10-m Air Rifle as my bread and butter event. That's where I shine. But now I think I can also expect returns from prone in Rio," says Narang, who will participate in his 4th Olympic Games next month.
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The former World No1. in Air Rifle, has 8 Commonwealth Games gold medals and was the first Indian athlete to win a medal at the London Olympics. Gagan's bronze in 10-m Air Rifle opened the floodgates for India. That has been the high point of his career as an Olympian so far.
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But preparing for the Rio games has not been easy. Mid-way through his preparation, coach Stanislas Lapidus, who worked with the national team, resigned. Gagan and the team had worked with him for well over eight years. However with the help from the Indian Government's TOP scheme Gagan could re-employ him to chart his Olympic journey. The Government and Olympic Gold Quest ensured Gagan got training stints in Lucerne and Russia.
"It is a privilege to have backers like the Indian Government and the Olympic Gold quest. The TOP scheme has enabled us to travel to the best of training locations, and take advantage of training facilities at Lucerne and Russia. They are state of the art training centres. I have been able to continue with coach Lapidus. Olympic Gold Quest has helped me with mental trainer, physiotherapist, every other additional element I needed for my training," says he.
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Gagan has reached the finals of two events at the recently concluded World Cup in Baku, giving an indication of his form. Peaking at the right time and balancing three events will be the biggest challenge for Narang. But at 33 and in the prime of his career, Gagan knows that this is his best chance of earning the sobriquet- 'gold finger'.