Shooting – The Hindu

Ramita
| Photo Credit: Stan Rayan

She does not like sweating out in the sun and running does not make her day. And though Ramita Jindal had tried swimming and badminton as a teen, she prefers a quiet, lazy life indoors.

That’s how the Haryana girl came to shooting.

“I’m not very much into physical sport and in shooting, we don’t have much of physical stuff. We need some long hours of standing and this was quite a comfortable place, being in the AC,” said the Olympian in a chat with The Hindu after topping the National Games women’s 10m air rifle qualification with an impressive 634.9 points at the Trishul Range here on Wednesday.

Six months ago, Ramita hit a high, finishing seventh in the Paris Olympics but the effort and the hard work behind it drained her completely.

“After shooting a lot, I was kind of getting bored with the game so I didn’t shoot for some three months and it was fun and very refreshing when I started again. I fell in love with the sport again, I felt alive in the sport, and started from scratch. After the break, it was great coming back to competitions,” said the 21-year-old.

What did she do during the break? “I had a great time with my family because I trained away from them. I also did some other activities, like learning guitar and drawing. I did my exams also, I cleared off my education, B. Com (Hons) from Delhi University’s Hansraj College.”

Mature

The Olympics offered her plenty of lessons. “I think I have grown up a lot, learned a lot of things, I’m more mature in the sport.”

Now that she’s back fresher and more focused, Ramita has some strong goals in sight.

“Of course, performing better in the upcoming World Championships (in November) and definitely aiming for gold in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.”

Thursday’s 10m air rifle final will also features another Paris Olympian, Gujarat’s Elavenil Valarivan, who hails from Cuddalore. And Ramita feels it will be an unpredictable final.

“In final, it’s about a single shot and you never know where that single shot takes you… to what position. I think everyone who qualified for the top eight are equally capable of getting the medals,” she said.