TN’s Narmada fights back to win bronze in National Shooting Championship

CHENNAI: After a tough season, Tamil Nadu’s Narmada Nithin finished the year on a high by winning bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle event at the National Shooting Championship in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday.

In the highly competitive field, which had Olympians Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita and Anjum Moudgil, the 23-year-old finished the qualification stage on the second spot with an impressive 632.9 points. And in the final, the TN shooter registered 231.3 to finish third.

This was a significant achievement for Narmada, as it marked her first individual medal in five appearances at the nationals. “We had trials in September and after that I did not compete in any tournament. This was the first competition after two to three months. So, I was not expecting anything much, but I knew that I did the hard work,” Narmada told TOI.

Narmada had missed out on the Olympic selection trials after finishing sixth in domestic competitions, with only the top-five qualifying. Reflecting on the year’s challenges, she shared, “This year was really tough because I did not play in any international competition. I took up shooting in 2019 and started competing at the senior level without much experience. By the end of 2023, I realised that I needed to step back and gain more experience to avoid a dip in form.”

She added that this decision allowed her to evolve as a player. "I started exploring myself through extracurricular activities like stitching, embroidering, and art. Understanding myself as a person was important. Winning gives you excitement, but losing teaches you valuable lessons. Ending the year with a medal will be close to my heart. It is a reminder to keep fighting, that I am still there, and I still have it," Narmada added.

While 2024 was an Olympic year, Narmada thinks that the decision to spend time off the field will definitely help her reap rewards in the future. “In the back of my mind, I knew that I should learn more and immediately trying to get in the Olympics was not right as I was rushing in rather than going at my own pace.”

Narmada will next be in action at the National Games in Uttarakhand.