Failed in trials, lagged behind in studies, how did Aishwarya become an Olympian: He always saw a gun on his father’s shoulder, so he left school and became a shooter

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This story is of Aishwarya Pratap Singh, the younger son of Thakur Veerbahadur Singh Tomar of Ratanpur village in Madhya Pradesh. The narrator of the story is Thakur Veerbahadur Singh himself. Shooter Aishwarya Pratap Singh is a medal contender for India in the Paris Olympics. He will play in the qualifying round on Wednesday, July 31. However, there was a time when he failed to pass the academy trials.

We went to Aishwarya Pratap Singh’s house to know how he became a shooting star from Ratanpur village of Khargone district with a population of about 1000. Ratanpur is about 70 km from Khargone. The 3 km long road from Tehsil Jhirnya to the village was built only last year. However, the road to Aishwarya Pratap Singh’s house is still unpaved. Read this ground report…

I have seen guns since childhood and made a career out of it
Aishwarya’s father Veer Bahadur Singh Tomar has been living in Ratanpur village for the last 41 years. He has about 50 acres of land. He has three guns. When Aishwarya was young, he was more attracted to his father’s guns than his studies. Whenever he got time after school, he used to help his father in cleaning the guns.

Veer Bahadur Singh Tomar says, ‘We always keep guns. I used to fire in the air to protect the crops, Aishwarya used to watch me then. Then he also felt like shooting. He was young in age, but he started liking shooting.’

Aishwarya during the 15th Asian Shooting in Korea. Photo- aishwary_ind insta

Veer Bahadur Singh Tomar says, ‘Many fairs are held in Khargone and the surrounding villages. Navgrah Mela, Jhirnya or Bhagoria Haat, all had stalls for bursting balloons with guns. Aishwarya insisted on shooting there.’

Aishwarya likes Virat Kohli’s game
Aishwarya is a star shooter, but who is her favourite player? Veer Bahadur Singh answers, ‘Aishwarya likes cricket. She plays cricket occasionally. She is a fan of Virat Kohli. She likes Virat’s passion for cricket. He is an expert in resolving stuck matches. He has won matches for India many times even when the conditions were difficult. That is why she is very impressed with Virat.’

‘In October 2022, in the T20 World Cup, Virat single-handedly scored 82 runs and snatched the match from Pakistan. Aishwarya liked that innings very much. Aishwarya also talked to Virat Kohli then. They also talked on mobile during the last Olympics.’

During the Tokyo Olympics, Kohli and South African player AB de Villiers congratulated Aishwarya for the medal over a video call.

When he got selected for the shooting academy, his father was surprised
Veer Bahadur Singh Tomar says, ‘After the death of Aishwarya’s grandfather, being the eldest son, the entire responsibility fell on me. I used to pass in first division till 12th. I wanted to become an engineer, but could not study. Then I started seeing my desires in my son.’

‘Aishwarya did her early schooling in Jhirnya, 5 km from Ratanpur. Her uncle Nitiraj Singh Tomar used to drop her to school on his bike every day. We sent her to Khargone for further studies. Aishwarya studied there till 8th standard.’

Aishwarya after winning gold in the Asian Shooting Championship in Korea. Photo- aishwary_ind insta

‘My nephew Navdeep Singh Rathore is in CISF. He is also an international shooter. Navdeep was part of the Indian team in the Youth Olympics held in Singapore in 2010. During studies, Aishwarya was very impressed with Navdeep. One day Aishwarya said that I want to go with Navdeep Bhaiya. Navdeep also said the same thing to me.’

‘It was summer vacation at that time. Aishwarya went with Navdeep. We sent Aishwarya to the academy’s summer camp in Bhopal in 2014. He was not selected then. He kept practising in another range for a year. We sent him to the academy in 2015 too. This time he got selected.’

‘I got a call from Navdeep that Aishwarya has been selected, what to do next. I thought that I don’t know how she got selected. I told Navdeep that I will think about it and let you know. I took advice from my younger brother Nitiraj. Then we decided to send Aishwarya to the academy itself, because she is not interested in studies.

‘It has been 8 years since he started shooting. He has proved himself by reaching the Olympics. I think this is a great achievement. Before this, he has also participated in the Tokyo Olympics. This time, I hope that my son will win a medal in the Olympics.’

Got entry into shooting academy at the age of 15
According to olympics.com, Navdeep had promised Aishwarya’s father that I cannot guarantee Aishwarya’s education, but I will make her a professional shooter.

At the age of just 15, Aishwarya joined the Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy with Navdeep. However, she was not selected in the first trial. Navdeep decided that Aishwarya should get good training so that she could pass the trials and get admission in the academy. He used to take her to the shooting range in Bhopal and make her practice.

She was registered in the summer camp of Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy. Finally, her hard work paid off and Aishwarya got entry into the academy. She started taking training from Navdeep. Her first coach in the academy was Vaibhav Sharma.

Aishwarya joined MP Shooting Academy at the age of 15. Photo- aishwary_ind insta

Navdeep Singh Rathore also arranged for a special rifle coach from Olympian Gagan Narang’s academy Guns for Glory. The coach came to Madhya Pradesh Shooting Academy for a month and trained Aishwarya.

Aishwarya’s mentor Navdeep says, ‘In the first Nationals in 2015, she was disqualified because her butt plate was one cm below the prescribed level. On this Aishwarya said that it was the most difficult time. I used to see all the children shooting and I had to stay alone in the hostel. I had never lived alone before, so it was very difficult.’

He was ranked 21st in Tokyo Olympics, this time he is a contender for gold
23-year-old Aishwarya will participate in the 50 meter air rifle three-position event. He also participated in the Tokyo Olympics, but finished 21st and could not reach the final. Aishwarya will aim for a medal in the qualifying round on July 31 and in the final on August 1.