ISSF World Cup: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar believes he's on the same level as World No. 1 Istvan Peni
The Indian clinched gold in 50m rifle 3 positions event at the ongoing ISSF World Cup
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar clinched gold in the ongoing ISSF World Cup in the 50m rifle 3 positions event, on Wednesday at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
He scored 462.5 to beat top shooters like Hungary's world number one Istvan Peni (461.6) and Denmark's Steffen Olsen (450.9).
"There was nothing in my mind - that I was competing with World No 1. We are all at the same level now," stated the shooter after bagging the top prize.
Tomar did not have a good score during the qualifiers but showed his mettle in the finals with a top-notch performance.
"Qualification was good but the score was low. The conditions was not very good in qualifications, it was very windy and it also started to rain towards the end, and that created difficulties. In the finals, there was pressure but I shot okay. This will further boost my confidence ahead of the Tokyo Olympics."
His cousin Navdeep Singh Rathore is a professional shooter and was part of the Indian squad that travelled to the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore.
Hence from a very young age, he has grown up with guns. He had more interest in helping his father, Veer Bahadur Singh, clean up his shotgun and break barrel air rifle rather than studying. He would even nag Veer Bahadur to take him to the Navgarh fair so that he could try his hand at shooting balloons.
He is coached by Suma Shirur who has been a pillar of strength for the young shooter.
"I was feeling nervous today morning and ma'am said it's good that you are feeling nervous," said the shooter who even had "a vomiting sensation" before the finals.
Shirur is proud that Tomar overcame everything that was holding him back and put his best foot forward when it mattered the most.
"Going back to the qualifications yesterday, it was very challenging because throughout our training camps, we did not have the wind situation that we had yesterday, and also there was no particular direction," Shirur said.
"It was very challenging but an extremely good learning experience. Ever since I started working with Aishwary the one thing we always spoke about is that we are never going to use the wind as an excuse and always going to take it as a challenge.
"I am really happy that yesterday after the whole event Aishwary didn't come out saying even a single word about the wind. That was a very positive thing. So, despite everything, he tries to put in his best effort."
Shirur feels that Tomar produces his best in crunch moments and his success has come earlier than expected.
"He is very good in the finals, he has the ability to come on top. Also, in training, he had a similar score, but to be able to deliver when it matters is something we are very happy about.
"But after making the senior team, coming into the World Cup, entering the finals and then winning the gold... it has come earlier than expected," she expressed.