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Joydeep Karmakar, on arrival in the city,
on Thursday. A Telegraph picture
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Calcutta: Weighed least by expectations, Joydeep Karmakar surprised everyone with a creditable result when he finished fourth, 1.9 points behind the bronze-medallist, in the 50m Rifle Prone event at the London Olympics.
For Joydeep, the result was ‘satisfactory’ and the response was ‘overwhelming’. With the target achieved, Joydeep wants to move on to new avenues. He will now give a shot at 10m Air Rifle, the event which has been made famous in these parts of the world by Abhinav Bindra, who won a gold medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics.
But that’s not the most engaging part of the story. The twist in this particular tale lies in the fact that the Bengal-based marksman will start practising next month at Bindra’s residence, and that too with the ace shooter’s rifle.
“Even before going to the Olympics, I was planning to try my hand at 10m Air Rifle, among various other events. During the Olympics, I discussed the plan with Abhinav… Upon hearing my plan, he gave me the suggestion of joining him at his residence. He even promised that he will give me his rifle,” Joydeep said upon his arrival at the city on Thursday.
Speaking further about his future plans, Joydeep added: “I don’t want to restrict myself only to the Prone event… Practising 50m Rifle 3 Positions also features in my plans. But for now, I will try to spend as much time as possible with my family.”
Talking about Joydeep’s performance in the Olympics, the marksman won a million hearts with his spirited show. But he revealed a strange fact. According to him, he was not completely aware of the rules of the shootout! And it is because of that, that he considers the performance to be his best.
“Since I didn’t have the experience of playing in the shootout, I was not completely aware of the rules… After qualifying for the final, our coach (Stanislav Lapidus) gave me a clearer picture of the various rules. Still, it was a big hurdle for me… But I decided to take the challenge head on… Under the circumstances, I think I have given my best performance. In the end, it was a very satisfactory feeling. A medal would have made things sweeter, but I think I achieved my target,” Joydeep declared.
But for someone who has tasted success, even though in his own little way, sustaining the momentum becomes the most important thing. And Joydeep knows the how to do it. “It is after a lot of hard work that I found the success… Everyone is appreciating me… I’m elated with the overwhelming response. I don’t want to let it go and want to work harder to sustain it.”
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