Ronak Pandit has begun well though. The 21-year-old pistol shooter recently won India a gold along with Samresh Jung.
MUMBAI: Following in the footsteps of an illustrious father as never been easy for any son. Ask John Bradman, or Rohan Gavaskar.
Ronak Pandit has begun well though. The 21-year-old pistol shooter recently won India a gold along with ‘Goldfinger’ Samresh Jung in the 25m Standard Pistol pairs category. This feat did go some way in matching the achievements of his father, Ashok Pandit, who had won India a gold in the 1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand in the centrefire individual event, besides bagging a bronze in the pairs section.
Brought up in an environment where picking up the gun, albeit for a sporting purpose, was natural, Pandit began displaying his enormous potential pretty early. He has been the junior national champion in various pistol events since the last six years, and has bagged more than 200 medals at that level, besides striking gold in the Asian Junior Championships.
However, his true class was revealed when he became the only man to beat Jaspal Rana, pipping the latter in the 10m Air Pistol section at the 2004 South Asian Federation Games in Islamabad.
DNA caught up with Pandit while the shooter was training at the Maharashtra Rifle Association shooting ranges for the upcoming World Cups in Munich and Milan.
On his performance in Melbourne: I would rate it at 50 percent. I did win the gold with Samresh, but on the other hand, failed to win any medal in the individual category. It was disappointing, because it is comparatively easy to win a medal in the Commonwealth Games. However, had I participated in Samresh’s events, I too would have reaped a gold harvest.
On his present status: I did not go to participate in the World Cup in Brazil, because I was appearing in my graduation exams. I can proudly say that I haven’t let my studies suffer despite pursuing a full-time career in sports.
On the growing popularity of shooting: It started with my father wining a medal in the 1990 CWG Games. Subsequently, someone or the other has been doing well at the international level. It showed we could excel in this sport. In shooting, there is a lot of brotherhood. Any experienced shooter is forever willing to help a rookie. That kind of brotherhood has helped the sport foster.
On Maharashtra emerging as a shooting power: Thirty percent of the shooters in the country come from Maharashtra. A major influencing factor has been the positive role played by the MRA in developing the sport. It has helped that the organisation is being run by professional shooters, like my father.
On the new Indian pistol coach: Csaba Gyorik, our new Hungarian coach, has made a major difference, as is evident from our recent results. The big advantage with him is that he is available to us all the time as he is based in India. Tibor Gonzcol, our previous coach (ironically, also from Hungary) was a brilliant coach, but he used to be present for just a few days, which wasn’t an ideal situation.
On his long-term goal: I want to shoot in the Olympics. And whenever I do, I want to win at least three medals, not just one.
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