Aman aims at the bullseye

He is a huge fan of the legendary Usain Bolt and admires the precision of ace shooters Abhinav Bindra and Hyderabad’s very own Gagan Narang. And, not surprisingly, the 14-year-old Datla Aman Varma has already caught the imagination of the shooting fraternity with his consistency in the circuit.

The gold in the under-18 and the under-21 category besides a creditable fourth place in the seniors in the recent Telangana State Championship at the HCU shooting ranges only serve a gentle reminder not only of his unbridled passion to keep moving up the ladder but also the fact that he means business in the ranges.

This ninth standard student of Chinmaya Vidyalaya (Lower Tank Bund), by virtue of his performances in the State meet, has qualified for the selection trials in Delhi.

“The State meet results are immensely encouraging for me. A kind of morale-booster as I look ahead and dream big,” says the articulate young shooter who is incidentally coached by Jilla Susheel at the Film Nagar Club in Jubilee Hills and also occasionally visits the HCU Ranges too.

“The fact that we did not have exams till class VII, gave me the freedom and time to pursue my passion in shooting. I am fortunate to have parents and the teaching staff who always made it a point that I grew up with a positive attitude, never fearing failure,” says Aman who uses the Walther LG 400 Anatomic .177 peep sight Air Rifle.

Clearly setting bigger goals in the days go to come like aiming for scores of anywhere between 610 and 615 out of 60 shots (his best till date is 602.6), Aman says that his ultimate goal is to represent India in the Tokyo Olympics though the biggest challenge for him right now “is time management between academics and training.” Clearly, in the mood to make a mark in the world of shooting!