Like father, like son

It may sound natural but the seven-year-old suprised many by winning the U-12 title in his maiden appearance at State Championships concluded at Chandmari of Asansol Rifle Club earlier this month.

The performance might not have surprised the Olympian father who returned with a creditable fourth place finish in the 50m rifle prone, but what really gave the senior Karmakar "goosebumps" was the striking similarity with Adrian.

"Just before the prize distribution, he held my hand and asked me take him to the range. I was a little surprised as it was dusk and the lights at the range was turned off after a busy day.

"But he went there and stood behind the lane that he was shooting from and which have won him the gold. This was something I did after my event at the Olympic and he never knew that I did it. This was my biggest reward as a father to see Adi react like this. I was amazed to see, how emotionally he was attached to the sport," the Arjuna Awardee said.

Karmakar said sport runs in their gene with his father a national-level swimmer.

"If you live here for about 15 days, you are bound to feel passionate about the sport. Adi is not an exception. He is the third generation sportsperson in our family.

"Adi is surely the most mischievous guy off the range, but when he is shooting he is the most composed and focused. He has definitely got good capability but I don't want to put any pressure on him."

"I was adventurous enough to put him with the under-19 champion and to everyone's surprise he fared quite well. I guess if I was a little more adventurous to put him in the u-21 category, he might have managed to get a bronze," Karmakar quipped.

Incidentally, the senior Karmakar too had begun at the age of seven.

"My liking for guns and hitting targets started, when I was only seven. I was enrolled at the North Calcutta Club at the age of 10. Two years later, I was in the State Championship."

Karmakar, who trains alongside Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, further said shooting is the best sport in India, having earned so many medals for the country.

"Indian shooters are all over the place. But the infrastructure must be developed and maintained. That is the basic thrust of every sport in every corner of the world."

But Karmakar is upset that he did not receive sufficient support form yhe state government.

"Other Olympic participants got much more than I did. There is a serious lack of appreciation of talents in our state.

"To me, even if I don