By V. Vijayalakshmi, IANS,
Pune : Sixteen-year-old Aparajita Tivary is no ordinary teenager, she comes from a family of shooters with a dream to win gold at the London Olympics. However, at the Commonwealth Youth games (CYG) here, this ambitious and determined girl broke down when she lost a bronze medal by just a single point in the Individual Women 50m Rifle Prone.
“I am very disappointed with my performance here, my personal best is 592 and my average itself is 587 and here for some reason I ended up with just 579,” Tivary told IANS wiping away the tears.
Tivary, coached by her father Lt. Col A.N Tivary, a national level shooter and now an Army trainer, practises every day for three hours after school. In fact, the whole Tivari family is into shooting. Aparajita’s mother Aparna Tivary took to shooting after marriage.
“It’s there in our blood, I too have participated in two national level games,” said Aparna.
Aparajita’s day starts early and ends late at night as she attends school and training centre.
“My day starts at 6 in the morning. Go to school (Army School in Mhow in Madhya Pradesh), come back at three and leave for tuitions and then shoot till eight in the night.”
So, when does she get to relax like the others of her age group? The ambitious mother is quick to respond: “Shooting is relaxation for her and six hours in the school is more than enough.”
“My father is my inspiration, we practice at the Army Marksmanship Unit in Mhow,” added Aparajita. Her father believes in thinking positive and regular training as the key to success. “We don’t miss even a day’s training,” said Aparajita.
The family of four, which includes Aparajita’s younger sister who is also a shooter in the making, has driven down to Pune all the way from Mhow. “We try and go together to all the championships, but this is our first international event,” said Aparna.
So how does this family from the Army afford the expensive sport?
“The Army provides for the weapon and the ammunition while the equipment like glove and the jackets are also sponsored,” says Aparna.