India-trained US shooter Anahad Kohli aims to make both countries proud

Even as US citizen Anahad Kohli (16) shifted to India with her family, she did not give up on her interest in marksmanship. With the support of her family, the young shooter, who once trained in Mohali, went back to her birthplace in the US and made her mark in Virginia.

Adorning a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) uniform, the youngster has bagged a good haul of medals. However, two bronze medals — won at the Virginia State Junior Olympics and at the US Navy JROTC Nationals in Anniston, Alabama — hold a special place for her.

Besides her maternal grandfather, who owned a gun house, and her mother’s interest in revolvers, no other member from Anahad’s family has ever been involved in the sport of shooting. “It (shooting) was never a plan, but it happened. During a visit to a village in Punjab, I fired a few shots in an academy. Coach advised my father to put me in the sport and since then there’s no looking back,” said Anahad.

She returned to India at the age of 4 and the family had plans to settle down at her father’s birthplace —Chandigarh. Anahad was enrolled in Strawberry Fields High School. However, after almost 10 years, the family decided to allow her go back to Virginia and focus on shooting. “In India, I started my journey from Trinetra Shooting Academy under coach Archit. Now, I am honing my skills under coach Jason, a US Navy veteran, and coach Mike. I first thought of pursuing the sport in India, but as the US happens to be my birthplace, I decided to move there,” she said.

“I am affiliated with the Lafayette Gun Club, which was founded in 1948, and is now my ‘third’ home,” laughed Anahad, who is also a recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from the LL Foundation Yorktown.

Currently, pursuing her academics from Tabb High School, the 3P expert aims to play in the Olympics. “I am still learning kneeling and prone positions, but am very confident in standing. In the US, shooters find the standing position tough… but for me it is relatively easy,” said Anahad, who got her first rifle as a gift from her grandmother.

“Like every other sportsperson, I also wish to play in the Olympics and bring laurels. Right now, the aim is to carry the US flag, but I am also an Indian at heart. I am tagged as the torchbearer of shooting at my school, which is a big responsibility. I still have a long way to go,” added the shooter, who is ranked among the top 30 precision shooters (Under-18) in the US at the Junior Olympics.