‘Happy soul’ Prithviraj Tondaiman winning hearts

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, July 17

Trap shooter Prithviraj Tondaiman calls himself a “happy soul”. In and around the Indian team, ‘Pittu’ is known for his courteous behaviour. He addresses former India international Anwer Sultan, who is the coach of the trap team, as Anwer uncle.

When he steps up to the shooting station, however, the 36-year-old flicks a switch to get into the competitive mode. Prithviraj has been India’s best male trap shooter this year.

On Sunday, Prithviraj won a bronze medal at the ISSF World Cup in Lonato, Italy. It was his second-ever individual World Cup medal. In March, he had won a bronze at the Doha World Cup. It was incidentally the first individual medal at a World Cup for India since Manavjit Singh Sandhu’s gold medal in 2014.

In Lonato, Prithviraj delivered with two perfect rounds of 50 each to stay in contention for the final. With four shooters tied on 122, he booked his place in the final after finishing first with five hits.

“I was feeling the pressure in Doha but not here. I was confident that I would make it to the final and I remember telling Anwer uncle ‘I am confident that I can break 50 targets’,” Prithviraj told The Tribune.

Prithviraj did not have an ideal start to the final, missing the first target, but recovered well to win bronze with a total of 34 hits. Germany’s Nathan Hales won the gold medal with 49 hits, while China’s Qi Ying finished second with 48.

“After the miss, I steadied myself. Though there were a few wobbles, I am happy I was able to recover,” he said.

Russell left a mark

Currently ranked third in the world, Prithviraj explained how working with former trap coach Russell Mark and high performance manager Lauryn Mark helped him improve. “Over the years, we have worked with many coaches and not one ever told me that ‘you can do it’. Russell did that with me and it gave me the confidence since it was coming from a two-time Olympics champion,” Prithviraj said.