Kolkata , December 20 : Ace shooter Joydeep Karmakar’s dream of having a shooting academy in Kolkata is finally getting fulfilled . The Joydeep Karmakar Shooting Academy is all set to start rolling from December 27 .The state of the art academy based at the Salt Lake Sports Authority of India(SAI) Complex will be the first of it’s kind in Eastern India .
Joydeep started this academy with a vision to promote the Olympic sport in Bengal .The construction of the shooting range is almost complete . Aspiring rifle shooters from Bengal will now have the opportunity of training at the academy . Besides youngsters, even working professionals who love the sport can train in these academies. Since procuring a personal rifle is an expensive affair, all the trainees will be provided with practice rifles .
On being asked what was the idea behind such an academy, the Olympian said,” I want to give back to the sport which has given to me everything. I started shooting when I was 10 years old. That time hardly anyone knew about the sport. Same rifle was used for years. But now the scenario has changed. People are conscious about shooting. Shooting itself has emerged as one of the top sports in the country in recent years with a lot of personal milestones being achieved by Indians . ”
Kolkata was once a shooting hub of the country . People from all over West Bengal came here to train at the North Kolkata Shooting Club . But gone were those golden days . Joydeep sounds optimistic about reviving the glorious past in shooting ,” I can’t see the huge talent pool in our region go wasted without having any opportunity to excel in this wonderful sport”.
With India already assured of eight quotas- Jitu Rai, Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Apurvi Chandela, Gurpreet Singh, Prakash Nanjappa, Chain Singh and Mairaj Khan shooter Joydeep Karmakar would be looking forward to book a berth in the Rio Olympics.” I have some few technical problems. I was also hospitalized for a few days so that affected my preparation as well .”
Joydeep is determined to change the present state of the sports in the region ,” The present condition of the sport in this region is not bright and I would like to contribute in whatever way I can to help develop the sport .This is just a little contribution from me”.
Following his father’s footsteps , son Adrian is also a very bright prospect. “ I already enrolled him in my academy. He will train here with his fellow shooters. For the past one year he is out of the circuit as the rifle is slight heavy for him to use but now he is ready to take up the challenge” an elated father revealed.