From an Olympian to a watershed: Suma Shirur hits bullseye all the way

Suma Shirur is more than just an Olympian; she is a beacon of inspiration for women across India. As a mother and a mentor, Suma embodies the balance between personal and professional life, using her platform to advocate for the empowerment of women through sports. Her journey from a small town in Karnataka to representing India at the Athens Olympics of 2004 as a sport shooter is a testament to her resilience, determination, and unwavering belief in the power of sports to transform lives. The Statesman got an exclusive chance to talk to Suma about her life, philosophies, and future plans.

How was that feeling of scoring a perfect 400 in the qualification round, setting a joint world record, and winning the gold medal with a total score of 502.3 in the final in Kuala Lumpur?

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So, actually, the world record moment was very defining for me. It was only after that that I got the kind of recognition. I was known as a good shooter, but only after this record was I considered among the champions. It was the last chance to qualify for the Olympics. I won the qualifying and the gold, which gave me a lot of pride. After my record, sponsorships came my way, and helped me build my career after that moment.

From that moment to nurturing young minds as a coach, how do you motivate the kids today so that they can achieve their dreams?

There’s definitely one thing I would like to tell the young ones. Nothing of value comes immediately. Its all about nurturing your talent over time, and you need to hang in there. Keep growing as an athlete, every step of the way.

How did you see your transition from a high achieving athlete to a high achieving coach?

I retired as an athlete around 2019. Before that, there was a chunk of time when I was doing both. I was coaching and training as an athlete. So, I made it to the Olympics in 2004, and in 2006, we founded the Lakshya Shooting Club in Navi Mumbai. So, the next part of my journey was a dual identity. My journey after retirement, in 2018, I was invited by the federation to take charge of the Junior Rifle Team. That is when I finally hung up my boots, and I took up coaching full time. I am very happy with this transition. I still stay in the arena, in the space of high performance. I am just not holding the gun, but my athletes are. So, everything feels the same. I got lucky, because I could stay in the place I love the most. That made my transition very easy, because it’s always the hardest part for an athlete to retire and move away from everything.

Have you ever had difficulty to popularize the sport for the young ones?

Shooting is a sport where you either like it or you don’t like it. I have very seldom seen any in-betweens in this sport. Fortunately, I have not had to convince kids to join the sport because now India has a lot of medals in shooting. But it was very different and difficult in our times. It was hard for me to even explain to my friends why I was a shooter and not something else. They didn’t even know shooting was an Olympic sport. A lot of kids take up shooting in summer camps. The ones who stay are completely in love with the sport. Kids who come here love it. It is very addictive.

In a country where women’s participation in sports is significantly lower than global averages, only about 28 per cent of sports participants in India are women compared to 45 per cent in countries like the USA. Suma is on a mission to bridge this gap. She recognises the unique challenges that Indian women face in pursuing sports and is dedicated to creating opportunities that encourage more young women to take up competitive sports. She has been instrumental in the success of athletes like Avani Lekhara, who made history at the Paris 2024 Paralympics and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in shooting. Suma won the Arjuna Award in 2003 as an athlete and the Dronacharya Award in 2022 for her excellence in coaching.