ift Kaur Samra will compete in the Women’s 50m rifle three positions event at the Paris Olympics.
Indian rifle shooter Sift Kaur Samra is approaching her debut at the Olympics without feeling the pressure, treating the prestigious event as just another international competition. “It’s just the name of the tournament that changes, not the people or the technique,” she said. Currently training in Luxembourg, Sift will participate in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the Paris Games, starting on July 23. The Asian Games gold medallist and world record holder with a score of 469.6 acknowledged that the Olympics is bigger than other competitions because it happens every four years, but for her, it’s just another competition where she will follow her usual routines.
“It’s the same; it’s just a normal World Cup for us, and we always give our best in the World Cup. This is another tournament where we will give our best. Yes, because it (the Olympics) comes every four years, it is much bigger than the other World Cups. But I feel like it’s the same people we had in the last World Cup, so it’s going to be the same,” Sift told IANS.
“I just have to do the same things I did in my previous tournaments and training sessions. It’s just the name that changes, not the people or the technique,” she added.
When asked about her first Olympic appearance and her training for the event, Sift expressed her excitement. “I think it’s great reaching here, so it was fun and next also it will be fun.”
“It’s the same; it’s like when we had a camp and the schedule given to us, so we just followed that,” said Sift about her training leading up to the Paris Olympics.
In the Paris Games, a 21-member team of shooters will represent India, including eight members in Rifle, seven in Pistol, and six in the Shotgun discipline. Among the rifle shooters, only Aishwary Pratap Tomar and Anjum Mudgil have prior Olympic experience.
When asked if she received any advice from fellow shooters who competed in the Tokyo Olympics, Sift said, “We haven’t talked about this.” Instead, she received advice from veterans in other sports like Saina Nehwal (Badminton), Mary Kom (Boxing), and Sania Mirza (Tennis) during a television show.
“But from different sports, I got advice. If you have seen, there was a show where Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, and Mary Kom gave me a little advice, so that was really good.”
“One of them was reaching here is not an easy job, but I have done that, so ‘you have to be confident, you have to believe in yourself, and you will be doing the best.’ Another one is, ‘you should have that fire to do your best and get something from Paris.'”
Regarding her target for individual performance, Sift concluded, “I just want that it should not be the same as in the last tournament which I have shot, it should be like one more. I will try to shoot one more point. If it was like 593, then I will shoot 594 if it’s my day. So, let’s see, let’s check out yeah, but this one is going to be my target.”
