The Hindu : Sport / Shooting : A celebrity or a non-entity?

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Sport - Shooting

A celebrity or a non-entity?

A. Joseph Antony

— PHOTO: Jeff Gross/Getty Images

UNLUCKY CHAMPION: Gagan Narang has hardly received the recognition he deserves for his achievement.

HYDERABAD: A prophet is held in honour everywhere, except in his own land. — The Bible.

Sportspersons are in the news for making the top 10 in world rankings and others for slipping below the 100 mark too. Gagan Narang’s not so lucky, despite his presence in the cream of crack-shots for over two years!

After his 10 metre air rifle world record breaking effort in Bangkok, he returned home, not to fanfare and hoopla, but to a hardly conspicuous reception. Two National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) officials welcomed him at Delhi airport with a sweet and some drum beating. And there ended acknowledgement for that global achievement.

Truly daunting

The odds he overcame to record that World Cup final triumph at Bangkok were truly daunting. Practice prior to that annual championship, restricted to the world’s top 12, was racked by power cuts at the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh shooting range in his hometown of Hyderabad. Nor did/does the facility have an administrator. As for import of ammunition and upgrading of equipment, they had stopped it years ago.

When seeking financial assistance for Olympic preparations, the World No. 6 was advised by sports bureaucrats to use cash incentives he received for international achievements to foot the bill for his training. Those earnings were taxed despite the Union Sports Ministry’s written guidelines that they were exempt from income tax. Such apathy was glaring when sportspersons with much less accomplishment walked away with housing sites, simply because they had political godfathers to push their cases.

At other times doubts were raised whether he belonged to Hyderabad or Haryana. So much so that his father B.S. Narang had to produce certificates right from school to prove Gagan’s Hyderabad domicile. Strangely, Saina Nehwal, whose forebears belong to the said northern State, received reward and recognition from there, while Gagan was ignored.

Financial support came subsequently from the Union Sports Ministry and Gold Quest, but a little late in the day. Sadly, Gagan’s first weapon, a second-hand one, was purchased from fellow-shooter Kuheli Gangulee with money realised from the sale of his mother’s plot of land, allotted by the R & D Defence Employees Co-operative Housing Society in Secunderabad for service leading to retirement.

For a sport that’s been bringing India honours by the handful since 2006, Gagan hasn’t got his due of both reward or recognition. Which leaves one wondering whether he’s a celebrity or a non-entity?

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