The Shooting Star

An exclusive interview with 16-year-old Hridoy Hazarika who is beginning to make a mark in shooting sports

For most of us, our teenage years comprised mostly of hanging out with friends and procrastinating on work but that is not the case with 16-year-old Hridoy Hazarika, who is using his time to grow as a shooter. Hailing from Assam, he recently won a gold medal in the Men’s Junior 10m Air Rifle category, at the 52nd ISSF (International Shooting Sports Federation) World Championship 2018. He surpassed Iran’s Amir Mohammad Nekounam, by scoring a decisive 10.3 against 10.2. He had also claimed the top spot in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle category at the SSF Junior World Cup that was held in Suhl, Germany, earlier this year.

Tell us a little about your background and your parents who have helped you in your journey.

My hometown is Narayanpur, Lakhimpur. I did my initial schooling at St Xavier’s School. From 2013, I started to train in rifle shooting. I only trained on Sundays initially. I used to travel 25 kilometres from my home to the training range in Sankardev Mahavidyalaya located in Pathalipahar, Lakhimpur. The shooting range was constructed in 2013 and my father sent me for training on the advice of the principal of Sankardev Mahavidyalaya.

My parents have always helped me and guided me as I was quite young when I first started training. My father looks after all the expenses and my mom always travels with me when I go to compete in different championships. My mother was working as a school teacher, but eventually she left the job to accompany me to all the championships, national and international. We (my mom and I) shifted to Guwahati in 2016 for better training, and now we will be shifting to New Delhi soon for senior level training.