Visualization keeps them calm in stressful situations: ‘Mature’ Tomar
Panaji (Goa): After focusing on the men’s 50m rifle 3-position in which she won gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar was in tough competition in the final of the 10m air rifle event in the 37th . National game in Goa.
He showed real maturity in overcoming the competition and later claimed that imagining upcoming success keeps him calm in stressful situations.
Tomar was the epitome of grit when he won the gold medal in the final of the 10m air rifle event at the National Games. With two shots left, the 23-year-old was 0.3 points behind Services’ Sandeep Singh and needed to do something special to win the gold medal.
The Madhya Pradesh shooter responded with shots of 10.6 and 10.4 to outwit the leader and win his second gold medal at the National Games, having won the 50m rifle 3-position event a few days earlier.
“Considering the fact that I have not practiced much in 10m air rifle in the last month (he was competing in the 50m rifle 3P event at the Asian Games), I am happy to win the gold medal.
“This has added to my gold medal tally in the 50m Rifle 3P event, so I am proud of both getting the gold medal and improving on my silver and bronze (in 10m Air Rifle and 50m 3P respectively) from the last National Games,” he said. Really happy.” Said after defeating a strong field that included 2022 World Champion Rudraksh Balasaheb Patil.
With five of the eight shooters reaching the finals with qualifying scores of over 630, there was very little margin for error in the finals. Tomar kept pace with leader Sandeep Singh in the 24-shot final and was credited for raising his level at the business end.
Talking about how he manages his nerves in such pressure situations, the 23-year-old shared, “I think I have reached a certain maturity and consistency level in my game, so I Never think too much about the score between rounds and rounds. I believe that when I am in a state of flow, I will end up on top.”
“I really visualize my success, like imagining how I’m walking out and walking up to the center of the podium and winning a medal with the national anthem playing in the background. This process really keeps me calm and working towards me being successful, but I have worked for years to train my mind and create this mindset,” he said.
Tomar said that he had developed this technique of visualizing his success since childhood, when he used to dream of representing India in the Olympics. Interestingly, tennis star Novak Djokovic also often considers this method as a reason behind his success.
Tomar’s agenda is to secure his place for the Paris Olympics by winning the upcoming trials.
Akhil Sheoran and Swapnil Kusale have already secured the two available quotas for India in the 50m rifle 3-position, while Rudraksh Patil and Arjun Babuta have done the same in the 10m air rifle category.
But since quotas are allotted to the country and the National Rifle Association of India has a selection process to choose the best shooters before the Games, Tomar is confident that he can continue to perform well and remain on top. Can. ranking to secure your spot at next summer’s showpiece event.
“This event (National Games) is a big deal for all the shooters because there are a lot of ranking points at stake for your national ranking,” he said underlining his state’s contribution to his success.
“Winning for my state (Madhya Pradesh) is an achievement that always makes me happy because whatever I have achieved in this sport has come because of the support that the Madhya Pradesh government has given me since 2015.
He said, “You must have seen that many states reward their players for winning medals in big events, but the Madhya Pradesh government takes utmost care in grooming its players and especially the shooters to enable them win medals in prestigious events. Spends.”
