Rashmee Rathore has all along been a lone ranger when it comes to shooting. But she perhaps realised late in the day that to strike success she had to enjoy her craft more and not see it as work.
“I was piling up too much pressure on myself and that’s what let me down in the recent Incheon Asian Games,” she said.
Last week, she treated the National shooting championships at Patiala as nothing more than an outing and presto, the women’s skeet gold was hers!
“The preliminary rounds prove tough for me but once in the final, my confidence climbs a few notches. I get a kick out of seeing rivals under pressure.
Asian championship trap gold medallist Seema Tomar is a good friend and when she backs me, like she did at the Nationals, it works like a charm to make me calm,” says the three-time National gold medallist.
“In the past, I wasn’t serious during practice. I consciously put a stop to the music playing in the background that I’d fool around with. Conscientious practice would convert to success in competition, I hoped and it did,” said the ex-Stanchart Investment Service Sales Officer, who quit that lucrative job to pursue her passion.
“I’ve met the world’s leading crack-shots but was never enamoured by them. It’s their approach that held me in awe. For instance, world champion and Olympic gold medallist Kimberly Rhode doesn’t think too much. She just comes, gets into position, knows her routine, fires and leaves. She’s as casual in competition as in practice,” Rashmee said.
“I tried to follow in her footsteps and it worked for me. I also noticed she wasn’t very talkative,” recalled Rashmee, who’s fascinated by psychology and therefore inclined to watch people closely.
Finance has been the biggest hurdle to a career that could take wing with international exposure. Her parents have been funding her to date, but that puts pressure on her to perform, although they never push her. “One godfather who can underwrite the costs of this expensive sport will set me free,” believes the post-graduate in Accounting and Control from The Hague University, Netherlands.
Even otherwise, it has not been an easy ride. A severe case of food poisoning last year became an intestinal infection that laid her low for eight months and saw her shed 20 kg!
“It caused not just loss of weight but led to low self esteem and depression,” Rashmee said of the havoc wreaked by the illness.
On the road ahead, it’s going to be one step at a time. “My immediate target is the Kerala National Games, early next year. From there I’ll aim at the international competitions. I’ve tried long enough and my time will come,” she signs off with hope.
