What started as a hobby during Covid-19 in 2020 soon turned into an addiction for Tilottama Sen and the Bengaluru teenager defied all the odds on Tuesday as she claimed a sensational bronze medal in the women’s 10M Air Rifle event at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo.
The 14-year-old, producing a performance betraying her age in just her maiden senior international event, totalled 262 after a series of 5 shots to miss out on a gold medal shoot-off by just 0.1 point.
“To win a medal in her senior international debut, especially in an event as big as the World Cup, I couldn’t have asked for more as a father,” an elated Sujit, who works with Tech Mahindra, told DH.
“Her dream is to compete at the Paris Olympics next year. For that she needs to shoot at the senior level. So she gave trials for the World Cup last month and was selected. She was determined to make the most of the opportunity. I still haven’t spoken to her but I’m sure she must be happy to win a medal on her debut and show what a rising talent she is.”
While Tilottama and her family are rejoicing now, less than three years ago she was like most regular kids watching cartoons on TV with a special fondness for Chhota Bheem. She was not entirely at fault because schools were shut due to Covid-19 and online classes weren’t necessarily appealing.
Seeing Tilottama spend most of her time gawking at the TV made Sujit, working from home like most corporates, restless. So when things slowly started opening up, he asked his daughter to try her hand at some sport. For some reason, Tilottama chose shooting and she’s been hitting bulls-eye since then.
Without a personal coach, the ninth-standard student from Bluebell Public School trains for about 7-8 hours a day. She either shoots at Karnataka State Rifle Association or Hawkeye Rifle Shooting Academy. Last year she won an individual bronze and team gold (both 10M Air Rifle) in the Junior World Championships at Cairo.
Tilottama’s rapid progress has left Sujit with mixed feelings. “It costs approximately Rs 6 lakhs to fund her shooting dream and for a middle-class working guy, it’s extremely hard to sustain. That’s why she only shoots 10M and has no personal coach still. She just picks up lessons during national camps and trials and executes them during training,” said Sujit.
“I initially thought she’ll stop shooting after one or two years. But she fell in love with it and didn’t want to stop. And she started winning medals at the national and international levels too. Given how brilliantly she has been performing, I couldn’t stop her. As a dad, I’m trying my best to fuel her dreams.”
Sujit hopes Tilottama's latest success brings sponsors on board that can help further her talent and ambition.