Bengaluru, April 27: Gajanan Shahadev Khandagale, 22, who hails from Talwada village in Maharashtra’s Beed district, got addicted to the mobile game PubG a couple of years ago.
He spent many hours a day playing to improve. Little did she know, at the time, that his addiction to the popular first-person shooter game would one day lead him to win the bronze medal at the 2021 Khelo India University Games in Bangalore.
Gajanan, in 2019, was in the National Cadet Corps when his peers told him about the GV Mavalankar Shooting Camp, where students interested in the sport were asked to try out.
Having gained a reputation as a skilled PubG player and developing an interest in shooting, Gajanan decided to show up for them. There, he discovered that aiming came naturally to him.
“In PubG, you have to aim correctly to hit the target. I got a great understanding of how to do it through that game,” Gajanan said.
“On the first day of my shooting selection, I felt pretty good about myself, holding a rifle. Before that, I had never seen one, and here I was, with one in my arms,” he added.
After performing well in camp, and following the same in tournaments at the local and national level in the 50m rifle 3-position events, Gajanan was on top of the world.
But coming from a poor family, his joy was short-lived, as he soon realized he couldn’t afford to pursue this sport.
“I didn’t know at the time how expensive sport can be. In addition to the expensive gear and equipment, the cost of travel, diet and staying fit was too much to bear,” he said.
A disappointed Gajanan went to his parents to ask them to allow him to pursue his dream of becoming a shooter. His father, who sells slippers for a living in the village, supported him and decided to sell 2-3 quintals of his ancestral land to finance his shooting career.
“My parents also borrowed money from some of my relatives to make sure I pursued my dreams. At that time, I decided to switch to the 10m air rifle as it required less equipment and was relatively more affordable,” Gajanan said.
Luckily for him, his decision to switch categories only improved his performance as he created a new record at the 30th All India GV Mavalankar Shooting Championship with 397 points out of 400 in the 10 air rifle qualifying round. m, in October 2021. Six months later, in April 2022, he also scored 630.3 in the 10m air rifle national trials qualifying round, finishing in first position.
Now representing Savitribai Phule Pune University, Gajanan, who competed in the 10m air rifle event at KIUG 2021 at SAI Shooting Range in Bengaluru, won the bronze medal on Sunday, with a score of 260.2.
“The Khelo India scheme is a good opportunity because you get the opportunity to compete with some of the best athletes from all the universities. The government will provide funds to the children at the initial level, and this will help them make ends meet when start their careers,” Gajanan said.
Despite facing all the financial difficulties, Gajanan is focused on making his trip to the Olympics. At this point, he’s not worried about having a job. He also receives the full support of his parents, who constantly push him to reach new heights.
“My goal is to go to the Olympics. Whether I have a job or not, I will not leave sport behind. I will continue to walk this path, regardless of where I end up. I have decided to give my 100 percent.” to this sport, and even if I fail, I will be proud of the hard work and sacrifices I made to fulfill my dreams,” Gajanan signed.