‘Deer aye d u r u s u t a a y e ’ (Better late than never) goes the old a d a g e . Shooting star G a g a n Narang was delighted to hear that he had been recommended for the country’s highest sports honour, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, this year. He was very upset last year that he had missed the bus, but an honour this year has put him on the bull’s eye.

Reacting on the award, Gagan Narang said that he was happy that his performances had been recognized and he was now motivated to do better and stay focused on his target. Admitting that the award had pushed up the expectations from him, an undeterred Gagan Narang said that he had been experimenting with his rifle and equipment and was testing the right ammunition. Preparation for an Olympics medal would begin in right earnest next year, he said. Narang, who would be playing for the country at the Olympics for the third time, said that till recently Indians were the last to make it to the competition, but the tide had changed now.

With the Olympics still a year away, eight Indians have qualified for the London Olympics. They are Abhinav Bindra (rifle) Hari Om Singh (prone) Ronjan Sodhi (double trap), Sanjeev Rajput (three position) and Vijay Kumar, Annu Raj Singh and Rahi Sarnobat (pistol) and Narang (rifle).Not finding his name in the awards list last year, Gagan Narang had for a fraction of a second thought of quitting, while playing for the World Championship in Munich. It was his coach Sunny Thomas and colleague Samaresh Jung who persuaded him to play.

It is because of their persuasion that the 28- year-old Hyderabad-based rifle shooter became the first Indian marksman to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics with a bronze in the World Championships in 2010. “It is a win, I treasure most that taught me to handle situations not to one’s liking,” Gagan Narang said, adding that since then his gun had been talking. What came after that, his performances in the Commonwealth Games and the Asians is history. He annexed four gold medals at the Commonwealth Games making his country and supporters proud, while playing at home. He is nursing another dream of flying a Sukhoi jet. IAF has extended the honour to cricket stars M S Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar and one hopes the same would be extended to Gagan Narang too.

Not satisfied with just making a name and winning awards, the Hyderabadi now wants to give back to the game so that no other father has to sell his land to buy rifles for his ward. Gagan Narang has started a shooting academy in Pune that would be conducting the first nationals from August 3. He said that some foreign companies had agreed to sponsor the event and they were looking for Indian sponsors. Academy’s primary aim is to train talented shooters and extend full support to them, Gagan said. He went on to add that enthusiasts could subscribe to their weekly newsletter, which would contain all news about shooting from across the globe. Remembering his early days, Gagan said that people would always inquire the best place for training, since he brought laurels for the country. He said that the picture of an archer shooting an arrow into a bowl and the Olympic flame lighting up at the 1992 Games is etched in his memory.

Among the other noted sportspersons, who have made it to the honours list include pacer Zaheer Khan. The 32-year-old fast bowler currently doing duty for the country in England has taken 271 wickets in Tests at an average of 31.94 and 273 wickets in one dayers at an average of 28.84. Last time, Delhi cricketer Gautam Gambhir bagged the Arjuna award in 2009. Indian football captain and striker Sunil Chettri, rising tennis star Somdev Devvarman and ace badminton player Jwala Gutta too figure in the awards list. In 2010, Somdev Devvarman struck a golden double by finishing on top in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games singles events.

Gagan’s major achievements

2010: 2 Silver Medals, 10m Air Rifle (Individual and Pairs), Asian Games, Guangzhou.

2010: 4 Gold Medals, Commonwealth Games Delhi. 2010: Bronze Medalist, 10m Air Rifle, ISSF World Championships Munich.

2010: Bronze Medalist, 10m Air Rifle, ISSF World Cup Beijing. 2010: 4 Gold and 2 silver in the Rifle Events at VIII Commonwealth Shooting Championships,New Delhi.

2009: Gold Medalist, 50m Rifle 3 Positions, ISSF World Cup Changwon. 2009: Bronze Medalist, 10m Air Rifle, ISSF World Cup Changwon.

2008: Gold Medalist, 10m Air Rifle, ISSF World Cup Final Bangkok. 2008: Bronze Medalist, 10m Air Rifle, ISSF World Cup Beijing.

2007: Silver Medalist, 50m Rifle Prone, Asian Championships Kuwait City. 2006: Gold Medalist, 10m Air Rifle, ISSF World Cup Guangzhou.

2006: Bronze Medalist, 50m Rifle 3 Positions, Asian Games Doha. 2006: Quadruple Gold Medalist, Commonwealth Games Melbourne.

2005: Gold Medalist, 10m Air Rifle, Asian Championships Bangkok. Arjuna Award winners 1. Zaheer Khan (Cricket) 2. Rahul Banerjee (Archery) 3. Preeja Sreedharan (Athletics) 4. Jwala Gutta (Badminton) 5. Suranjoy Singh (Boxing) 6. Sunil Chhetri (Football) 7. Rajpal Singh (Hockey) 8. Rakesh Kumar (Kabaddi) 9. Tejaswini Sawant (Shooting) 10. Virdhawal Khade (Swimming) 11. Ashish Kumar (Gymnastics) 12. Somdev Devvarman (Tennis) 13. Ravinder Singh (Wrestling) 14. Ravi Kumar (Weightlifting) 15. Vikas Gowda (Athletics) 16. Sandhya Rani (Wushu) 17. Prasanta Karmakar (Swimming) 18. Sanjay Kumar (Volleyball) 19. Tejaswini (Kabaddi).