It was an evening filled with emotions for Navy marksman Omkar Singh, attached to the INS Agrani in Coimbatore, at the Ashoka Hall in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Wednesday.
It was quite understandable as Omkar was bestowed with the coveted Arjuna Award by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Best news
“It was the best news for me in 2012. Obviously, it gave me a great feeling to receive the honour from the President. I have no words to express how I felt yesterday,” said Omkar, who reaped a golden harvest at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
“I would have been happy if my mother had been around. But, I was quite unfortunate that she had to attend to my sick brother,” he added.
He said the award was not unexpected. “I had my moments of joy the last two years. I expected it last year. It is ok getting it a year late. There are so many in the queue. And, I don’t feel bad at all.”
Omkar was disappointed that he had missed the bus for the London Games.
“I worked hard for it. And, it was difficult to digest it, particularly that evening when I fell short of the target. The Olympics is over now. I will have to move on. I am doing just that. But, I am happy to have got the award in my bag.”
Having got it, he pointed out his responsibility gets bigger. “I will have to prove that I am worthy of it. The world championship is happening next year. And, I want to win.”
He thanked the Navy for the backing. “If it were not for the Navy, I would not have got this award. The Navy gave me the gun and, I shot medals with it. So, I am always grateful to them.”
Consistent performer
Commodore A.S. Baghel, Commanding Officer of INS Agrani (Coimbatore), congratulated Omkar for the award. “He is a consistent performer. He has had his highs and lows. It is not easy to hit the bullet on the bull every time. Every single bullet counts.”
“I am also pleased to have three Arjuna awardees in our unit. I feel it must be the first time that a unit has three,” he added.
Satender Kumar and Sanjeev Rajput are the other two awardees. And, Baghel is confident that his boys will achieve more.
