olympic
Unaware of what lay ahead, Uttam Maskar gave his daughter her first air gun in July 2022 so she may have a legitimate chance at a shooting career. Although she was only getting started, her coaches told me she had talent and that all she needed was her own gear to succeed.
He could scarcely have imagined that his daughter Sonam would bring some joy to an otherwise dismal day for Indian shooters at the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi a few years later while using the identical rifle, a gray Walther LG 400. Sonam won the only medal for India on a day when the nation failed to win: silver in the women’s.
The 22-year-old Sonam faced a formidable competition that includes Olympic silver medalist Keum Ji-hyeon, Olympic bronze medallist Audrey Gogniat, and Olympic fifth-place finisher Oceanne Muller. It’s never easy to compete in a World Cup final. She ultimately came in second to Huang Yuting, a double Olympic medallist from China. Yuting had to set a new world record of 254.5 to prevent the Indian from taking the first spot on the podium.
She solidified her status as one of India’s leading prospects in the prestigious 10m air rifle class by doing this. Sonam made her first senior appearance for India during the year at the Cairo World Cup, where she earned two silver medals and qualified to play in the World Cup finals.
. Although she won a medal for her performance in the final, her 632.1 score in the qualification round was equally noteworthy.
Her future appears bright now, but two years ago, when Uttam was still debating his choice, things were different. His daughter had only been shooting for a few months at that point. Her complete set, including the rifle, cost about Rs 5 lakh.
Only a few years ago, he wouldn’t have been concerned about this expenditure. Uttam, who was born in Pushpnagar village in the Kolhapur area of Maharashtra, had established a prosperous milk distribution company in Mumbai over the years.
Mumbai is where Sonam, the second of Uttam’s three children, grew up. She first became aware of shooting when she enrolled in junior college at Andheri’s Tolani College of Commerce. I used to play chess, but when I entered college in 2018, I discovered that there was no chess program at my institution. Archery, shooting, and boxing were among the sports they provided, so I ultimately decided on shooting,” she adds.
At first, she wasn’t really serious about the sport, even though she enjoyed it. The Covid-19 epidemic caused a significant alteration in that. Uttam’s milk distribution company was severely damaged by the shutdown, which was implemented to stop the virus’s spread. He eventually moved the family back to their village after selling the majority of their possessions, including cars.
sport for more than a year by then. I ultimately made the decision to resume shooting in 2021. Sonam remembers that simply sitting at home during the lockdown was really annoying.
She enrolled at the Vedh Rifle And Pistol Shooting Academy, which is owned and operated by Rohit Hawaldar and his wife, Radhika Barale, a former international shooter. Sonam persuaded her father to allow her to stay in a neighboring hostel because the academy is roughly 60 kilometers from her village. Uttam, for his part, was encouraging. I decided to let Sonam remain at the hostel because she appeared serious about shooting,” he recalls.
Sonam first practiced with a rifle and academy-provided gear. But it quickly became apparent that she required greater gear. According to Hawaldar, “I thought she was a natural shooter.” Even though she was wearing my wife’s outfit and carrying a rifle that was ten years old, she was doing well. However, I was aware that she required her own gear if she was to be a successful shooter.
Uttam acknowledges that he deliberated over his choice. He liquidated one of his few remaining business assets a few months after learning what Sonam wanted, and he purchased the equipment she needed. “In the end, I work for my kids.” Therefore, that was the appropriate choice, Uttam muses.
The fact that it has helped his daughter is more important to him than the nuances of the game or even the details of the rifle he bought her. The results were instantaneous; only a few months after beginning to utilize her own equipment, she placed in the top 30 at her first national championships. She was granted the opportunity to participate in the international junior team trials as a result of this accomplishment, and she eventually performed exceptionally well.
They needed to, and the results arrived fast. “Sonam only had one year of eligibility left to compete as a junior because she started her sport a little late,” her coach explains.
She took advantage of her chances by competing in the Asian Junior Championships, where she placed fourth, and the 2023 Junior World Championships. She eventually lost the opportunity to take part in the selection trials for the Indian squad competing at the Olympics in Paris, though, since she was too focused on making the most of her junior career. She tried in the last minute to place among the top six, who would compete for a trip to Paris, but she was only 0.3 points short.
Her coach has been frustrated because of this near miss. She knew she was hitting the same scores in practice as she was in the trials, which worried her. She possesses every trait required to be an excellent shooter.
Most significantly, she has the innate ability to remain composed and use her technique in extremely trying circumstances. Sonam is one of the persons who is born with this trait. She realized that she could have been on the plane to Paris as well, given all of these presents and her current shape, according to Hawaldar.
Sonam feels she has what it takes to be successful at the Olympics, even though she was not able to compete at the Paris Games. Since I need to upgrade the facilities here, I relocated from Kolhapur to Delhi this year (she stays at the SAI hostel near the Karni Singh Shooting Range). “Los Angeles 2028 Games gold medallist” is printed on a poster in my dorm room.
I’m aiming for it. Although I’ve only actually been shooting for a little more than two years, I would have wanted to compete at the Olympics this year. “I will succeed if I continue to put in a lot of effort,” she says.
