Rajyavardhan Rathore's heroics in the 2004 Athens Olympics played a key role in spurring the growth of Shooting, which suffered an alarming lack of awareness previously.
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The whole nation erupted in joy as Abhinav Bindra recorded a feat no Indian ever had. The shooting sensation helped India win its first-ever gold, at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. To date, no other Indian has clinched an individual gold at the Olympics. Bindra received praise and admiration from the masses as well as the experts following his heroic feat, with many terming the Olympian as one of the nation’s greatest sportsmen. The shooter however was quick to acknowledge the achievements of a particular sportsman, hailing him for playing a key role in this major triumph.
“(Rajyavardhan) Rathore changed me. His silver ensured that gold became my possibility,” said Bindra as quoted by ESPN.
The former sports minister helped India record its first individual silver, in shooting’s men’s double trap event at the Athens Olympics in 2004. The Olympian had to undergo his fair share of sacrifices, having spent no more than four months with his family for the previous two years. Rathore trained and competed on sports ministry grants, earned on the back of umpteen government forms personally filled. India is set to send its biggest-ever shooting contingent to the Tokyo Olympics 2021. Rathore’s heroics in 2004 certainly played a key role in spurring the growth of a sport that suffered an alarming lack of awareness previously.
India sent its first shooter Dr Harihar Banerjee to the Olympics in 1952. While it was certainly a good sign to note a representative being sent a few years after independence, the same did not translate into some real success. While the likes of Prithipal Chatterjee, Devi Singh, Roy Chaudhary, Jaspal Rana, Dr. Karni Singh and Mansher Singh represented India in different editions of the Olympics, not a single Indian shooter could reach the finals. One key factor behind this was the lack of information about a sport considered reasonably expensive and limited focus on sports as a whole. Sports was considered a form of leisure for the rich by the majority, with very few genuinely looking to become professional sportsmen. The lack of success certainly did not help.
However, things took a turn in the right direction in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as Anjali Bhagwat became the first Indian shooter to qualify for finals. This propelled a positive surge as India sent its biggest shooting contingent to an Olympic Games in Athens, 2004. There were eight direct qualifications instead of the three sent to Sydney in 2000. This included two hardship wildcards. The message was loud and clear: Nothing short of a medal would suffice.
The limelight was dominated by Bhagwat, with many backing her to win a medal, on the back of her heroics in Sydney. Bindra was another promising shooter who was expected to leave an impact. However, not many were well aware about Major Rathore, a serving army officer from the Nine Grenadiers who was a man of few words. Rathore had made the finals in every event he competed in the 18 months before Athens, winning a bronze medal at the World Shotgun Championship in 2003 in Cyprus. The shooter was ranked No. 3 in the world on arrival in Athens for the Olympics.
The confidence reflected with Rathore finishing as one of the three Indians to qualify for a 2004 Olympic final in four days. Bhagwat and Bindra had not won a medal, unfortunately, which certainly added an edge as the shooter emerged as the fifth of the six finalists.
Rathore was nine shots behind the leader, Ahmed Al Maktoum of the UAE. He was further three shots behind the No. 2 finalist, Hakan Dahlby of Sweden. It was certainly a stern prospect as the shooter admitted later. “I may have appeared calm inside, but I was dying a thousand deaths out there,” he said.
The final went down to the last round of 50 shots, following three rounds of 50 shots each in the qualifiers where Al Maktoum built up a sizable lead. However, Rathore delivered a fierce challenge when it mattered the most, soaking up the pressure with a score of 44 out of 50. While the other candidates struggled to handle the intensity of the moment, India’s hero continued to hold his own. Rathore’s sensational performance soon bore fruit with his final two shots, helping the nation record its first individual silver at the Olympics. His raised fist indicated supreme happiness having completed a glorious mission, displaying confidence which went on to inspire a generation.
Within two years of his silver, India won its first World Shooting Championship titles in Zagreb, 2006. Manavjit Singh Sandhu in trap shooting and Abhinav Bindra in the 10m air rifle were the heroes of the event respectively, with the latter going on to register the ultimate triumph soon after. One will certainly be optimistic about a sensational display by the Indian shooters in the Tokyo Olympics, bringing joy to all amid these tough times.
