It was hard to discern whether Chinki Yadav was elated at having won 25m Pistol gold in the ISSF World Cup 2021 New Delhi or relieved at having emerged as front-runner for a place in the Indian Shooting team to compete in the Olympic Games in Tokyo later this year. But it was easy to figure out that she was among the athletes who soaked in the pressure and delivered their best.
To be sure, the National Rifle Association of India selectors have not decided yet which two Sports Pistol shooters from among Rahi Sarnobat, Manu Bhaker and Chinki Yadav will compete in the Olympic Games. However, Chinki Yadav’s shooting this year, including the World Cup gold in Delhi, has made it difficult for them to consider keeping her away from the Olympic Games.
Consider this: even on the day she won the 25m Sports Pistol quota for India by qualifying for the final of the Asian Shooting Championships 2019 in second place, a media report suggested that it would be swapped to accommodate someone else in the Olympic squad. A 24th place finish (with a total of 567) in the National Championships in Bhopal only added fuel to such speculation.
“I cannot deny that each time I have thought of Olympic selection, there is some pressure. I have learnt to accept it and perform the best I can. Selection is not my domain. I have worked hard, and I am sure that will reflect in the time ahead,” she said after she won her maiden gold in five starts in an ISSF World Cup.
Top Pistol Coach Jaspal Rana believes her upbringing is a great help. “Chinki can handle any situation. She comes from a very humble, down to earth, soft-spoken family. She has learnt to not focus on things which are not really important, let alone those that can disturb her. She doesn’t take things to heart and carries no baggage. And that is an amazing quality to have,” he said.
“It is not as if she was all calm. She must have had a big fight happening inside during the competition. It happens with everyone,” he said, speaking about the pressure she was dealing with. “She knew it. Today’s kids, with phones, know each and everything that is being said about them. They have access to all information.”
Chinki Yadav herself did not live in denial. “There was pressure. It was not as if there was no pressure,” she said when nudged to speak a bit more about it. She paused for a moment and added an admission. “It grows when one has high expectations from oneself and one has to fight much to secure what one desires. Whatever it is, it helps to accept it.”
Asked to describe the pressure she felt when shooting in the final, the 23-year-old said she had to ignore the sweating and vibrations that she felt on her body. “ I got that control by concentrating on my breathing sequence and focusing on technique,” she said, articulating what most, if not all, shooters may be facing when taking up the assigned lanes.
“There was no pressure on who I was competing with because it is not important for me how much experience they have and at what level. It has not much relevance to how I shoot. What is crucial is how well I have trained and how well I can bring it to the lane during a match,” she said. Chinki Yadav, the import of her gold medal still sinking in, could not have articulated it better.
Indeed, she may not have known it then, but she was laying out an exhibition of the art of avoiding ‘paralysis by analysis’. “It did not matter to me where I finished, I just wanted to be the best I could be. Thousands of thoughts that cross the mind every second, but I have trained to take my mind off what happened in the previous series and prepare to shoot the series on hand well,” she said.
In the event, she did well to beat the vastly experienced Rahi Sarnobat 4-3 in the gold medal shoot-off after they were tied at 32-each when Manu Bhaker went out of the race with a bronze medal. “I had trained to be in a shoot-off situation in the final,” she said, having come up with her best under pressure.
Coach Jaspal Rana says he did not expect her to shoot as well because she shot four trials in the two months before the World Cup. “She was second in both trials in January and won the two trials in February. Shooters are not machines. It is tough to stay at the peak for three months. The target for her now will be to to train for a peak in June-July,” he said.
Chinki Yadav has shot better scores in qualification than the 580 she secured in finishing second behind Rahi Sarnobat. In fact, in three of the four trials, she had better scores in qualification. She will not reminding that in the Asian Championships she had 588. She knows if she gets to the Olympics, she will have to come up with her best scores both in the precision and rapid fire stages.
Coach Jaspal Rana said Chinki Yadav has to just keep doing the good, proper training to be ready to be the world’s best – and not just on the ISSF World Ranking. “Her calmness is a good quality to have. This comes from the upbringing and the way she has grown up in the society. She is a very caring person and ready to help even unknown people. And that takes her forward every time. Importantly, she is always ready to learn,” he said.
With sustained support from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as well as the Madhya Pradesh Department of Sports, Chinki Yadav will have no real worry about the quality of support on her journey ahead.
She herself promises to continue practicing the way she has been. “I hope that will help me do well in all matches,” she said. “I have worked on my self-confidence and have self-belief in all situations.” From the looks of it, she has coped well with the art of letting the mind be occupied by the best thoughts. And with the art of avoiding the ‘paralysis by analysis’ syndrome.
Feature Image of Chinki Yadav shooting in ISSF World Cup 2021 New Delhi (Courtesy: National Rifle Association of India)
