Shardul Vihan
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2012-2018: A
Tushar Dutt,‘ SHARDUL TRAVELLED 240KM EVERY DAY TO TRAIN’, August 24, 2018: The Times of India
Meerut Boy Is Coached By Anwar Sultan At Delhi’s Shooting Ranges
What all does a 15-yearold need to win an Asian Games medal? Well, a seasoned coach, a doting uncle and a driver, to start with.
Shardul Vihan, who won silver on Thursday, has depended on these three men for the last three years, since he reached the legal age of shooting with firearms.
Dhar mendra Shar ma, 46, who is like a family to the Vihans, has been travelling with Shardul from Meerut to Delhi and back, a total distance of around 240km, every day.
On Thursday, his efforts were rewarded with a medal. Sharma was in tears when Shardul confirmed the second spot in men’s final in Palembang. “I can’t tell you how happy I am today,” he told TOI.
“He is so young, and even then, he has been getting up at 4am every day so that he can reach the range in time,” Sharma said.
“Since he has to cover a long distance, he eats his breakfast in the car. His uncle Manoj accompanies him to coach Anwar Sultan’s range and he waits all day till Shardul is done training,” Shardul’s father Deepak told TOI from Meerut. “It takes a lot of courage to repeat the routine every day and not get tired of it. Neither Shardul nor my brother or Sharma ji ever complained about the travel,” the father added.
Shardul was only nine when he decided to take up shooting. “He had started with cricket and then switched to badminton. Then one day he said he wanted to shoot. We never stopped him from choosing his sport,” the senior Vihan said.
But Shardul had to wait for three years before he could start shooting with real bullets.
Shardul’s elementary coach Anant Singh said, “A kid below 12 years of age cannot shoot with firearms. He came to me when he was nine, so he had to do dry training (holding rifle without firing a bullet) for almost two years. He was not allowed to fire the bullets. Even then he used to train with dedication. It helped him a lot as the exercise built his muscle memory.”
The Meerut boy then decided to go a level up. He went to Arjuna awardee and former Olympian trap shooter Anwer Sultan and started training at Dr Karni Singh Range in Tughlakabad, Delhi.
The coach, who is with Shardul in Indonesia, said the shooter deserved to win on Thursday.
“His strength is his positive mindset. He is fresh and energetic when he comes to the range and follows the advised exercises diligently,” Sultan said from Palembang.
After the Asian Games, Shardul will compete in the World Championships in Changwon, South Korea, next month. “After the Worlds, he will shift to trap, as double trap is no more an Olympic event,” the coach added.
After Shapath Bhardwaj, Shardul became the second 15-year-old to represent India in international competitions.
B
At the men’s double trap finals of the Asian Games in Palembang, only one point separated 15-year-old Shardul Vihan and the gold medallist. The class IX student shot 73 and won silver, while Korea’s Shin Hyunwoo, who is 19 years older than Shardul, shot 74.
Belonging to Meerut’s Siwaya village, Shardul had started young — he was only nine when he started his shooting training at Meerut’s Kailash Prakash stadium. “There are very few who are so determined towards achieving their aim at such a young age. Shardul was one of them, and he proved it by getting a silver medal at such a young age in the Asian Games,” said Ved Pal Singh, his first coach.
Currently being coached by former Asian Championship double gold medallist Anwer Sultan, Shardul had won four gold medals on a single day in 2017 at the 61st National Shotgun Championship in both the senior and junior men’s double trap individual and team events. He had finished sixth at the ISSF Junior World Championship in Moscow in 2017.
“He has made the nation proud and all can say is that I will stand by him and his passion always,” said Deepak Vihan, Shardul’s father, who is a builder. The shooter’s grandfather is a sugarcane farmer.
“I had a talk with Shardul over phone and he said that it was only because of a minor mistake that he had to settle for silver, or else he would have come home with a gold medal. He added that he will improve his performance the next time. All of us are very happy,” Shardul’s father told TOI.
“There is not a single shooter in our village or in our family. When I realized that he was inclined towards the sport, I took up some work at the stadium here and provided my services for free so that I could get to know coaches. My efforts worked and he was taken in at the age of nine. Just four months into the sport, he won a gold medal in the north zone shooting championship,” Deepak Vihan said.
He said that there was not a single championship since then where he didn’t win a medal. “Our boy never comes back without a medal,” he said. Training in Delhi currently, Shardul leaves his house at 4 am every day and returns only by 8 pm. His studies suffered, but his sport improved every day, his family said. Shardul’s mother Manju Vihan is a homemaker and couldn’t help but dance to the beats of the drums which resounded in celebration of Shardul’s victory.
