As a two-time Olympian, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar will be among the senior pros in the Indian shooting contingent at the Asian Games. More importantly, though, it’s his four medals in the last edition that make him one of India’s strongest medal contenders in Aichi-Nagoya.
With two team golds and an individual bronze and silver each in 2023, Tomar was the star of the Indian shooting contingent. That performance won’t be repeated since he is only participating in one event this time — the 50m rifle 3 Position — but Tomar is not thinking about the numbers but the colour of the medal this time around.
“The last Asian Games was one of my best competitions. This time the target is to give the best performance and win the gold medal,” he told The Hindu during the team’s preparatory camp in Bhopal.
“Last time I missed it. I have to win gold. I don’t think much (about the number of medals). If I perform well last time, it’s my responsibility to perform well this time as well”
At 25, the impish Tomar is already a veteran of the sport. He is also one of the most consistent in his event in the country, and plans on staying there.
“The mindset is to stay at the top. I have been at the top in India for the last 5-6 years in my event. There is competition but there is no rivalry. At the end of the day, it will be a medal for India and that’s what matters,” he declared.
The two golds last time, he insists, were welcome but admits that the charm of an individual gold in shooting is different. “Individual, always. As far as the team gold is concerned, it is our country’s gold. But there are no team medals in the Olympics, shooting is mainly an individual event,” he shrugged.
Individual enough for the best in the business to shut out the world when on the firing spot despite all the noise and crowd a few feet away. To ensure that focus in competition Tomar, instead of locking himself up, forces his mind to wander. It might sound counter-productive; it’s anything but.
“The outside hustle while on the lane is fine; it’s the whirling inside that takes little time to calm down. It’s all a mind game, how well you control yours.
“No thought should be so powerful. That it starts affecting you. During training, I consciously bring in all the possible thoughts that can come during competition,
“I force myself to look at all the distractions. Scores. Ranking. Medal. What others are doing. All possible scenarios. So that when I actually compete, I will be used to it,” he revealed.
