From working as a labourer to buy his first pistol to dreams of an Olympic quota - Ravin Kumar’s story

The prospect of winning an Olympic quota excites him most. It’s a stern ask – only medallists in Doha will earn an Olympic quota -- but Ravin is backing his a tal vishwas. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

A few days before leaving for the ISSF World Championships, Indian pistol shooter Ravin Kumar admitted he was a little nervous.

It wasn’t just about making his international debut. It wasn’t even about shooting with a brand-new pistol for the first time in his life. “I’ve never been out of India. I’ve never even been on a flight. Everything about this tournament is new for me,” he told Sportstar before his departure.

Now in Doha, Kumar is already looking beyond unfamiliar experiences with ambition as clear as it is audacious.

“I have got to bring home an Olympic quota for India,” said the 24-year-old, who will compete in the men’s 10m air pistol event.

The World Championships will offer Indian shooters their first opportunity to secure quota places for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. For Kumar, it is an opportunity that once seemed a distant possibility.

When he first picked up a pistol at 16, he could scarcely have imagined representing India at a World Championships. He was simply trying to find a way to build a career in sport. At one point, he even worked as a manual labourer to afford his first second-hand pistol.

Growing up in Dholara, a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district, Kumar belonged to a farming family. Shooting was hardly an obvious career choice. He was pursuing a BSc degree when he began considering taking up a sport. He soon discovered that sporting excellence could offer him a route into the Army.

His dreams then were fairly modest.

“I just wanted a job. I knew that you could get jobs through the sports quota. I had done a bit of research and felt that shooting gave me the fastest way to compete at a national championship.”

In Muzaffarnagar, about 100km from Delhi, Kumar found a shooting range and decided to walk in. He soon discovered that his interest in the sport went beyond the prospect of securing a job.

“I didn’t know anything about shooting. I don’t even think I hit the target with most of my first few shots. But I knew immediately that this was the best thing I had ever done in my life.”

That initial rush of excitement faded, but his passion for the sport did not. Pursuing it, however, was far from easy. The eldest of three children in a farming family, Kumar knew that money would be a constant obstacle.

Some help came from Ashok Kumar, his coach at the SR Shooting Academy in Muzaffarnagar.

“He saw how dedicated I was and told me that I had real potential. He once came to my house and realised that I wasn’t from a well-off family. So he told me I didn’t have to pay my academy fees if I couldn’t afford it.”

Working in fields, shooting in range

For a few months, Kumar trained with a pistol provided by his coach. But he eventually realised that he needed equipment of his own if he wanted to progress.

A pre-owned pistol cost Rs 2 lakh. Another shooter agreed to share the expense, but even Kumar’s half of the amount was beyond his means. He borrowed some of the money and set about earning the rest.

“I worked as a manual labourer. I worked in fields and construction sites. I travelled to Haryana to work during the harvest. I was doing all this while also training,” he says.

Kumar would work in the mornings and travel 20km to his academy to train. When he recounts those experiences, he is surprised that others find them extraordinary.

“At that time, I genuinely didn’t think about whether it was hard or not. I just did what I needed to do,” he says.

There were further setbacks. When the shooter who had shared the cost of the pistol decided to quit the sport, he asked Kumar to return his share of the expenses. Kumar continued working until he had raised the money. Giving up was never an option.

“I did it because I had the confidence that I could do it. I had shot already. I knew I was good at it. I also felt I could get a job this way. Otherwise, it is really hard,” he says.

That confidence eventually paid off. After competing in his first national championship, Kumar learnt that the Indian Army was scouting for pistol shooters. Trials were being held across the country, including near Muzaffarnagar. But he chose to travel to a centre in Tamil Nadu.

“I chose to go that far off because I was hoping to avoid competing alongside some of the strong shooters from my area.”

#MadrasRegimentalCentre triumphs at 5th DG Infantry Young Blood Championship, clinching Gold in 10m Air Pistol Shooting & Bronze in 10m Air Rifle Shooting. Kudos to Ravin Kumar for clinching Gold in 10m Air Pistol with a record-breaking score #ShootingChampion #DGInfCup @adgpi https://t.co/VGA6CfZOJ3

— Southern Command INDIAN ARMY (@IaSouthern) February 10, 2024

In Tamil Nadu, he remembers shooting scores of 582 and 580, performances that earned him Army recruitment. He is currently an Agniveer, in the final year of his service, and hopes to be retained permanently.

His talent soon brought him to the attention of the Army Marksmanship Unit in Mhow, where he has trained since. But his equipment problems continued. The pistol he had worked so hard to buy gradually developed faults, with its centre piece, adaptor and grip all giving way. He eventually had to sell it for a fraction of what he had paid.

Borrowed pistols

Unable to afford another, Kumar was forced to rely on borrowed pistols. It was a significant disadvantage in a sport where equipment needs to fit a shooter’s hand precisely. Yet, despite never having won a medal at a national championship, he impressed in the open selection trials conducted by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to select the national squads this year.

Using four different borrowed pistols across his trials, Kumar produced scores of 586, 585, 584, 583 and 580. His average was the highest among the three Indian men’s pistol shooters selected for the World Championships.

Only after his fifth trial did support from a sponsor enable him to purchase a new pistol. He is now training with it, and the World Championships in Doha will be his first competition with the equipment.

The news of his selection took some time to sink in. For someone whose family had never travelled abroad, the prospect of representing India at a World Championships was difficult to comprehend.

“In my family no one has ever gone abroad. No one has ever even sat on a plane. I was so happy when I got selected for the Worlds. I was so proud that I was selected for India, and going straight to the Worlds.”

It is a significant step up in competition, but Kumar insists he is ready. His coach at the Army Marksmanship Unit, Naik Subedar Manoj Kumar, has helped him adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings and expectations of the national camp.

“At first I felt even coming to the national camp to prepare for the World Championships was such a new experience. Everything was new and unfamiliar. But my coach gave me advice that has helped. He said, ‘Every target is the same, no matter where in the world you are. Just believe in yourself.””

For Kumar, simply making it to Doha is a remarkable achievement. But he hasn’t travelled abroad for the first time merely to experience a new country or make his international debut. He wants to return with something tangible.

“This is my first international tournament. I never thought about whether something is easy or hard. I have to make my name. If not today, it will happen tomorrow. I have an atal vishwas (unshakeable belief) in this,” he declares.

The prospect of winning an Olympic quota excites him most. It’s a stern ask – only medallists in Doha will earn an Olympic quota -- but Ravin’s belief is strong.

“Not many people would have come so far from where I started out. If I’ve come come this far I know that this is not where my journey ends. I know that I have something really big written in my destiny.”