When London Olympics bronze medallist Gagan Narang touched the feet of his first guru Niranjan Reddy, it was a sincere acknowledgement of the baton of coaching having changed hands successfully.
Quite fittingly, the event was the felicitation of Dhanush Srikanth, double gold medallist at the recent Deaflympics, and R. Surabhi Bharadwaj, silver medallist at the ISSF Junior World Cup, who both train at Narang’s Gun For Glory Academy at Trimulgherry Village.
Interestingly, gifted shooter Esha Singh, who won three gold at the last ISSF Junior World Cup, is also a product of the academy.
“This is one of the best moments of my life for sure. I remember the days when I trained a young Gagan in the cellar of the Country Club in 1997 when the City didn’t have a shooting range,” said Niranjan.
“Thanks to Gagan’s achievements, the sport has changed in the City and also the 2002 National Games saw a world-class shooting range set up on the Central University campus in Gachibowli here,” he said, adding that they were not even aware of the importance of a proper diet in those days.
“Honestly, I never thought I would see this day when I would be part of an event where two big achievers are felicitated,” said an emotional Niranjan.
Investments
Narang said he had spent close to Rs. 3 crore on installing electronic targets and ammunition besides imported guns and rifles at the SATS shooting range, where he has taken 50 per cent of the area for his Gun For Glory Academy.
“I am thankful to the State Government for giving me this opportunity, to the entire team at my Academy and to Olympic Gold Quest for the wonderful support,” he said.
“Honestly, mentoring Dhanush was a huge challenge when he first came to my Academy in 2016 because he cannot hear and speak properly. We had to be extra patient with him. Then, I decided to have a separate ‘code language’ for him and was glad that it worked,” Narang explained.
Dhanush's mother, Asha, and Surabhi said the biggest motivation for them was Narang himself. “Whatever we are today, is because of his guidance,” they said.
