India's Olympic-bound shooters recently underwent a training-cum-conditioning camp that had nothing to do with rifles and pistols, aiming instead at helping them better manage the rigours of elite sport.
As part of the High Performance partnership between the JSW Group and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), 11 members of the senior squad underwent a five-day camp that concluded on Sunday at the renowned Inspire Institute of Sport.
A record 15 Indian shooters have secured quotas for the 2020 Olympics.
The shooters, who are preparing for the ISSF World Cup beginning next month in New Delhi, attended a series of workshops and practical training sessions.
The shooters in attendance included a mix of experienced hands like Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil and Mairaj Ahmad Khan along with talented youngsters including Manu Bhaker and Divyansh Singh Panwar.
Other shooters at the camp were Deepak Kumar, Abhishek Varma, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rahi Sarnobat, Yashaswani Singh Deswal and Chinki Yadav.
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The team was accompanied by pistol coach Ved Prakash Pilania and junior national rifle coach Suma Shirur.
"Initially we were all a little confused when we were told that we would be spending a week training without our weapons and anything related to our sport. But when we reached here, I was blown away by the positive training environment at the institute...," said Bhaker.
A 2018 Commonwealth Games champion and winner of five 2019 ISSF World Cup gold medals, Bhaker added, "I have never stayed at a hostel before, and the discipline followed by all the athletes here was my biggest takeaway from the week."