Ayonika, who secured India their 11th Olympic quota with a silver in the women's 10m air rifle at the Asian Shooting Championships in January this year, was elated. But the Mumbai resident still felt that her moment should have arrived in 2012.
Ayonika Paul knows how to recover from setbacks in style. The 23-year-old narrowly missed out on sealing an Olympic berth four years ago. It was probably written in the script as Ayonika booked her berth for the Rio Games at the very same tournament this January. With a little more than two months remaining, the shooter can't wait to aim for the bull's eye. After all, she's been waiting for this moment for the past four years.
Ayonika, who secured India their 11th Olympic quota with a silver in the women's 10m air rifle at the Asian Shooting Championships in January this year, was elated. But the Mumbai resident still felt that her moment should have arrived in 2012.
"I still feel so (qualifying for London). It should have come four years back in Doha. I should have qualified for the finals but Anjali Bhagwat and I couldn't go all the way despite each of us shooting 396/400," Ayonika, who won the silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, said.
It wasn't easy for Ayonika, who took up shooting in 2006 while in Class 8, to recover mentally from the disappointment. "I was so frustrated during the first few months that I didn't want to pick up the rifle anymore. I had gone into a shell and had completely cut off from shooting. After a few months, I just saw the rifle and knew that no matter how much I run away from it, shooting was my true calling. Plus, watching Vijay Kumar (silver) and Gagan Narang (bronze) win medals in London was the right motivation that I needed to get back and resume shooting," said the 23-year-old who currently trains in Austria and Germany.
Once she got herself back to the shooting arena, Rio was the only thing on Ayonika's mind. With a second chance at the Asian Championships in New Delhi this January, she gave fans some cheer by sealing the country's 11th berth in shooting.
"It was a necessity (sealing a berth) that had to be done, come what may. I had already played out the situation in my head in the build up to the tournament. My parents were there too. They knew what I had to do to qualify (finish in the top two)," she said. Ayonika shot 205.9 in the eight-woman final, same as gold medallist Najmeh Khedmati of Iran but lost out on the top prize as she managed 9.9 to the Iranian's 10.1 in the shoot off.
From heartbreak in Doha to delight in Delhi, Ayonika said she was in the best condition going into Rio. "I had already planned as to what I had to do. Right now, as of today, I am at the right place where I had planned to be physically, mentally and technically. As far as the competition is concerned, I think I am my biggest competition. And, it all comes down to how much I have improved in the last few years." she said.
Know Ayonika
She secured a berth at the Rio Olympics by winning silver in women's 10m air rifle at the Asian Shooting Championships held in New Delhi this January
She won the silver medal in women's 10m air rifle at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
Won bronze in the women's 10m air rifle at the Asian Junior Championships in Kuwait in 2011
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 "Ayonika Paul")
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