The ace shooter Jaspal Rana congratulated Deepak Kumar on claiming the silver medal in 10-meter air rifle shooting event in the 18th Asian Games. In an event organised to felicitate the shooter for his achievement on Monday, Kumar said that he would go all-out to win the gold medal in the next Olympic Games.
While talking to the media persons after the event, Kumar said, “While I was a student of Gurukul Pondha based in Dehradun I learnt many things which have helped me with the silver medal. I owe it to my teachers who inspired me to participate in the completion.”
Kumar joined Gurukul in 2001 and then he joined Jaspal Rana’s shooting academy in 2004. He further said, “I will continue to work hard to give something more to my country. My next aim is to win gold in the Olympic Games.”
When asked about difficulties he had faced during the practice, Kumar said, “There were difficulties.
Being from a deprived social background, I took things as a challenge. However, continuous hard work paid off. Besides, I must mention that my studies helped me a lot. My studies in Sanskrit-the subject on which I got my degree-helped me to keep my calm during the game. I was nervous. Things were such that I was not in a position to think anything because of my nervousness. However, I regained myself soon thanks to what I acquired during my student days under the benign guidance of my teachers. It helped me to focus on the goal I had to achieve,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion Jaspal Rana who is also son of the State’s former Sports Minister Narayan Singh Rana said, “We are immensely proud of Deepak. From a poor family, he has shown an invincible courage to overcome the daunting challenge and achieved for the country the coveted silver medal in a competition held in a foreign land. Uttarakhand is proud of him too. This is not just a medal achieved in sports but it implies the immense depth lurking in our hoary Sanskrit literature.”
He further said, “It is important that we somehow connect sports with employment. This can help our talented children to achieve more in the field of sports.”