On a holiday in his hometown, ace shooter Gagan Narang got a jolt from the blue. The Maharashtra Government on Friday served a notice on the London Olympics bronze medallist, asking him to vacate his ‘Gun For Glory’ shooting academy from the premises of Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune by March 31.
“I am shocked,” exclaimed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee. “I just cannot understand the logic in this move. We have been paying annual rent to the Government, and we have been very successful in shaping young talent besides training the internationals as our results show,” explained the 29-year-old.
“In fact, I was expecting a pat on the back for all the good work done in Pune and was hoping to be given all cooperation in reciprocating this kind of initiative by having similar academies across Maharashtra and also in other States,” said a crestfallen Gagan, winner of eight gold medals at the Commonwealth Games.
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“It is a total contrast to the positive signals we got from the higher-ups of the Government. We have even sought an appointment with the Maharashtra Chief Minister on the issue,” he said.
The ace shooter is also holding discussions with the Andhra Pradesh Government for setting up an academy in Hyderabad though he is not too happy with the way they are progressing.