Meerut :
Twenty nine-year-old Anubhav Pratap Singh’s happiness knew no bounds when it was announced that he has won a gold as well as a silver medal in two different categories at Indo-Bhutan Big Bore shooting championship.
After all, Anubhav had not just participated in an international championship for the first time but also won laurels for the country. With 588 points, Anubhav bagged the gold medal in 300 metre Free Rifle Prone Men at an individual level and bagged a silver medal in the same category with same points in a team. He had shot the first time when he was only 10 years old and ever since then there was no looking back for Anubhav who is the son of Ved Pal Singh, range in-charge, Meerut district Rifle Association. While his father could play only one national match due to lack of funds for the rifles, Anubhav is living his father’s dreams.
“It is a matter of pride for me and my family because it is my first international medal. The event is still going on in Gurgaon and will end on April 13 but my competitions are over and will be awarded with the medals on April 12. I aim at getting selected in Common Wealth Games and World Shooting Championship now,” said Anubhav, who was awarded Laxman Award in 2016 by former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Anubhav has participated in over 60 shooting competitions at national, All India and state level and bagged various medals since he started shooting at the age of 10. His younger brother Anant Pratap Singh is also a shooter, who has played at international level and is currently a shooting coach in Haryana-based university.
Talking about the challenges he faced during the championships, Anubhav said, “Shooting is an expensive game and I only have a 0.22 bore rifle until now, which had cost me Rs 3.11 lakh with accessories. But I need to purchase more rifles to gain expertise over the game. In this championship, too, I had to share the rifle with the fellow shooters. Since I get scholarship from Khalsa College in Amritsar from where I am pursuing MA in English and got money from UP government too last year, in all probability, I will purchase a new rifle by this year end,” he said.
Not just the Indo-Bhutan Big Bore Shooting Chammpionship, Anubhav also won bronze medal in 60th National Shooting Championship Competition (Big Bore) 2017 in 300 metre prone men civilian championship, gold medal in 300 metre rifle prone national championship (team) and 300 metre rifle prone men civilian championship (team). The 60th National Shooting Championship was held from March 28 to April 5, 2017.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Meerut News / by Ishita Bhatia / TNN / April 11th, 2017