Tale of 3 Oly finalists: Two coaching, third still shooting

Vinayak Padmadeo
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, February 23

Joydeep Karmakar has vivid memories of the 50m Rifle Prone final at the London Olympics, where he finished fourth. Gold was won by one of the legends in prone shooting, Sergei Martynov of Belarus. Silver was bagged by Lionel Cox, bronze by Slovenia’s Rajmond Debevec.

Three of the London finalists are here at the World Cup. Of them, only Debevec, 55, is still going strong. Karmakar and Martynov now don the hat of a coach. Martynov coaches Belarus shooters while Karmakar is the personal coach of Mehuli Ghosh and has had an understanding to train Senegal’s shooters.

“Nobody remembers who finished fourth. But the guy who does knows that there is only a thin line between becoming an Olympian and an Olympics medallist,” Karmakar said. “I don’t have any regrets as that performance made me what I am today. But now I’m a coach and things are different.”

Martynov agrees that coaching is a different ball game altogether. “When you are shooting you are consumed in your own world. Your pains and failures are yours only. But as a coach I have to think differently. If anyone in the team has a problem, I need to address it as it may affect others,” Martynov told The Tribune.

Though they don’t stay in touch, Martynov knows about Karmakar’s coaching role. “We don’t talk much, but I know he is doing good as a coach and has a few promising shooters who train under him,” he said.

This was a pleasant surprise to Karmakar. “I am honoured to know that such a legend is keeping a tab on me. We have shared pleasantries on the range but it is a big surprise that he knows of my little work,” the former Railways shooter said.

Lone wolf

Debevec intends to carry on as a professional shooter for another five years, until he retires from the Slovenian Army at age 60.

He has no intention of becoming a coach. “This is a rule in our country. Once you touch 60, you have to retire. So till then I will continue to shoot, and it is too late to become a coach I suppose,” he said. “I’m aware I cannot perform like I used to years ago but I still find motivation to carry on,” he added. He said Karmakar and Martynov have switched to coaching because of the growing number of shooters in their countries. “I know in India it is very hard to make the national team. Slovenia is a small country and we don’t have that many shooters,” he said.