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Eight months after Paris Olympics, Sift Kaur Samra was back in business and her favourite spot – at the top of the podium at the Buenos Aires World Cup.
Sift Kaur Samra won gold at the Buenos Aires World Cup
Plenty of Indian hopes in the shooting event of the Paris Olympics were pinned on the then 22-year-old Sift Kaur Samra, who had won a gold in the 50m rifle 3 positions at the Asian Games with a world record score. But as luck would have it, she finished 31st among 32 athletes in qualification, just ahead of Canada’s Shannon Westlake.
Eight months later, Sift was back in business, and her favourite spot – at the top of the podium at the Buenos Aires World Cup. Adjusting to a new range at the venue and battling windy conditions, she made a stunning comeback.
Asked what went wrong in Paris, Sift told News18 Sports during a chat, “I feel like that particular day was not mine because there was nothing specific that went wrong. But it is like some days are not yours. So, that day was not mine because I feel like that day before, like on a training day, everything was fine and I had a good session.”
Did the pressure of being a world record holder get the better of Sift on the biggest stage? The youngster denies being under the pump because of the record but admits to being nervous because of the big stage and the madness surrounding it.
“My record was in the finals, and the qualification round is way different from it. I still intend to break my world record and not ponder over the fact that I hold it. I was a bit nervous because there is so much focus on the Olympics. Throughout the year, no one knows what I am playing, but in the Olympics, it changes,” Sift says.
The youngster also spoke on how important it is for athletes to be well-educated to ensure that they have a backup option if a career in sports doesn’t give the desired returns. A recent comment by legendary India shuttler Pullela Gopichand had sparked a lively debate on the same in the country’s sporting circles.
“A sportsperson should be well-educated, and they should know that if sports don’t work for us, then what other things can we do in our life to be successful and have a little bit of earnings for ourselves and for our families. Because in sports, nothing is certain,” Sift says.
“If an athlete has a backup plan, he or she can play with a lot of freedom of mind, because they won’t be pressurised by financial issues and keep pondering over them. My fellow shooters, who have jobs, play with a lot more freedom than the others who don’t,” Sift signs off.
