New Delhi: The upcoming Asian Games, the world’s biggest multi-sport event after the Olympics, will be Abhishek Verma’s first brush with international shooting, but the thought and the task that awaits do not unnerve the lawyer-cum-marksman.
Optimistically preparing to shoot at the Games, the 29-year-old air pistol exponent Verma is a late bloomer. Daunting as it may sound for many but the strapping man from Rohtak told this agency that he is quite excited and confident of his prospects.
“I have been preparing for the Games for a while and having done the hard work, I can say I am pretty optimistic even though it is my first outing,” he said.
I picked up shooting as a hobby about three years ago when my father was posted in Hisar. I got to know about a shooting range, nearby my gym, where I first picked up a gun
Abhishek Verma
Son of a sitting judge, Verma secured a bachelor degree in law from the Kurukshetra University in Haryana. Having climbed to the top of the charts with a fine performance in the 18th Kumar Surendra Singh Championships and the fifth national selection trials, Verma could end up spearheading the Indian men’s air pistol team in the World Championships too.
At the Asiad, Verma, who picked up the sport only three years ago, will also shoot alongside teen sensation Manu Bhaker in the mixed air pistol event.
His hobby of shooting led to Verma representing his university in the All India University Games and a fifth-place finish there made him participate in the Shooting Nationals for the first time in 2015. It was only last year, after being called up for trials that he decided to seriously pursue the sport.