Dubai: The world of sport is full of folklore of coaches wanting to see their unfulfilled dreams being realised by their proteges, and Joydeep Karmakar is no exception.
Hailing from Kolkata, a city more known for Sourav Ganguly and it’s love for football, shooter Karmakar fell agonisingly short of a bronze in 50m rifle prone at the 2012 London Olympics — but is dreaming again thanks to the new sensation Mehuli Ghosh.
The 17-year-old finished with silver after a tense shoot-off in women’s 10m Air Rifle to usher in another profitable day at the shooting range for India at the Commonwealth Games, but Karmakar is not exactly happy with her show. In a momentary lapse of reason, Mehuli thought she was through and started celebrating for her gold when she still had her last shot left — which allowed Martina Lindsay Veloso of Singapore to clinch the gold.
“Yes, I am happy for her but there are certain technical issues which cost her the gold. I would put it down to lack of experience, which can only come with time” Karmakar told Gulf News in an exclusive chat from India.
The silver at Gold Coast has come in the wake of a rousing form that the girl from Baidyabati, a sleepy suburban town off Kolkata, had been riding lately. It was in early March when she grabbed the headlines by claiming a bronze at ISSF World Cup in Mexico, an event where the Indian shooters finished with nine medals — giving an indication of the shape of things to come at the CWG.
Asked about how Mehuli plans to build on her success from here, Karmakar said: “Speaking long term, Tokyo Olympics is the goal for her but there are a lot of steps in between. She has to make the best use of her chance in Youth Olympics first, which she qualified for by winning the Asian Championship in Japan. The World Championship in Korea, scheduled in August-September, then offers her a chance to qualify for the Olympics.”
It was an eventful day for Mehuli on Monday. Trailing to Veloso till the last shot in the final, Mehuli ensured some late drama with a stupendous score of 10.9 with her last shot to take the issue into the shoot-off. In the shoot-off, Mehuli scored 9.9 while Martina shot 10.3. Apurvi Chandela, Mehuli’s compatriot and the defending champion. got the bronze with 225.3.
It’s been less than four years that Mehuli has come under Karmakar’s fold, who runs his own academy in the eastern fringes of Kolkata. “When her parents brought her to me, Mehuli’s confidence was shattered following a very bad experience with the previous coach. She didn’t believe that shooting could be her sport — and my main job was to bring her self belief back. This is the philosophy I have tried to follow in my coaching — work on the mental aspect as the basic skills finally fall into place,” he said.
The inevitable question of resources to back her dreams follow and Mehuli’s coach acknowledged it’s a problem that also needs to be addressed now. The Mumbai-based Olympic Gold Quest — a non-profit organisation — has been mobilising resources for her equipment and training but Karmakar feels her ward can certainly do with more. “May be, her recent performances may help in the corporates taking note as it’s too expensive a sport,” he added.
