Sudeep Pakrashi:
Adriyan Karmakar followed his Olympian father’s footsteps, earning the tag of World Cupper, 21 years after his father Joydeep Karmakar made debut in the senior World Cup in 2006 as there was no Junior World Cup that time.
Adriyan has been the only one from Bengal to have ensured a berth in India’s three-member men’s team for the Junior World Cup, scheduled to be held in Suhl, Germany from 20th to 26th May. Adriyan can also be termed as a rare example where a World Cupper and Olympian father’s son also placed his name in the national team for the World Cup.
Joydeep, who missed the bronze by a whisker in the 2012 London Olympics, however, did not sound very emotional while speaking to Parallel Sports. Rather, his observation sounds like only a coach when he opined, “His equipment has changed recently. It takes time to adjust to the new equipment. We were hopeful that Adriyan would be comfortable with the new equipment within the last month. Although he won a gold medal in a national-level competition within this period with the new equipment, I was and he also was not satisfied technically regarding the adjustment with the new equipment. Still, I am optimistic about his performance.”
But Adriyan will be entering shooting range in Suhl with his father’s motivation which is unique. “I do not speak or try to send motivational messages to my students, even my son ahead of their events. Rather I ingrain in their minds that once entering the competition he or she is alone. It develops maturity and mental strength. Does your father or mother sit with you in the examination hall? It is like that,” Joydeep revealed.
The 20-year-old shooter who will compete in the 50 Meter Rifle-three position and 50 Meter Rifle-Prone, has already drawn attention of the country’s shooting fraternity winning medals in the international competitions like Asian Championship, and World University Games. Simultaneously, Adriyan has been maintaining his authority in the national-level competitions also winning medals in most of the crucial tournaments including Khelo India Youth Games in Chennai last year.
Significantly, Joydeep Karmakar has introduced a shooting range in Kolkata which has 20 lanes, the maximum among the ranges in Kolkata. The High-Performance center has also modern facilities where along with the national-level players, promising shooters can also train. The center named Airport-Anex Branch near Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport is likely to be inaugurated next month.
