Her coach, Koeli Mitter Dalmiya has high hopes for her future. She believes that there is already a new kid on the block in Bengal. Koeli Mitter Dalmiya also believes that considering her potential, after Mehuli Ghosh, she can earn the prominence from Bengal in the future. 

She is Sandrata Roy, a 14-year-old girl from Ichapur, West Bengal and the student of Koeli Mitter Dalmiya..

Sandra has already impressive show becoming state champion last year in her event, 10 Meter Air Rifle with a score of 625.9 points followed by a gold medal in the Team’s Civilian Group Junior national championship last year and a gold medal and a bronze in the Youth Mixed Team category in the recently-concluded Youth National championship in Bhoopal. 

Significantly, Sandrata has also idolized Bengal’s international female shooter Mehuli Ghosh since her childhood. During her one-and-half-month stint at Olympic medalist Gagan Narang’s shooting academy Gun for Glory in Hyderabad Sandrata met Mehuli several times. 

She revealed while speaking, “Mehuli has been my idol since my childhood. Even her influence steered me to buy the same rifle Mehuli uses. She also encouraged me a lot after training. I learned a lot also after watching her in the training.”

Sandrata tried to establish herself in a few other games in childhood, but those did not click. Sandrata revealed, “I liked one thing in my childhood. That was shooting and bursting the small balloons from a particular distance arranged on a board, the fun game that is often seen in different festivals. I used to burst the balloons. Then when my parents took me to Serampore Rifle Club I became excited seeing a rifle." 

Sandra did not look back. After the Serampore Rifle Club, she went to Hyderabad, and then after returning from there, she joined Koeli Mitter in February 2023. Now she has set focus on improving her individual performance in the national-level competitions. 

"The national selection trial is scheduled to be held in February. I am concentrating on the competition now," disclosed Sandrata.

The shooter, appreciating her coaches added, “The one-and-half month at Gun for Glory helped me to improve a lot under the guidance of Bibaswan Ganguly. Now under the guidance of Koeli mam, I am gearing up with more intensity. Koeli mam was once my co-shooter. Now she is my coach and extremely caring. Significantly, she helps me to make the analysis about my shooting, before I start and after I finish my event.”

Koeli Mitter Dalmiya who guides her students at the shooting range, constructed at her home in Kolkata, has currently 23 students out of which 21 have already qualified in the national selection trial in different age groups. She also has a student Swati Chaudhury who has represented the country. 

The ninth standard student of East Point School, Ichapur simultaneously thanked her school. She added, "I get a lot of cooperation from my school, especially whenever I miss classes for the tournaments. My teachers are so caring that they help me get the study notes also."