Like many class nine students at the St. Mary Academy in Meerut, Shapath Bharadwaj is worried about his final exams coming up in a month's time. Math, science and computers are not particularly difficult. He has to read Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice though, which is proving hard. "I'm not bad in studies but these exams will be hard," he says.
His nervousness is understandable. Unlike his schoolmates who can focus on their studies, 15-year-old Bharadwaj has to balance them with a bigger challenge coming up a lot sooner.
He will be representing India at the Shooting World Cup later this month in New Delhi's Karni Singh shooting range. Bharadwaj will compete in the double trap shotgun event. It's a discipline that's been made famous by Rajyavardhan Rathore -who won silver at Athens in 2004 - India's first shooting medal at the Olympics. Bharadwaj is the youngest member of the Indian contingent and according to long-time India coach Marcello Dradi, the youngest ever to compete in the shotgun events.
So on 26th February, Bharadwaj will put his eye near the sight of his Krieghoff shotgun. When he calls 'pull', two orange coloured clay tablets will fly out some sixteen meters in front of him. He will follow the discs' path, which hopefully shatter into a puff of pink dust a fraction of a second after Bharadwaj squeezes off two shotgun rounds.
"When I was eight I fired four rounds at a range. I knew right then that this was something I wanted to do."
Competing in his first senior competition, Bharadwaj is already creating a bit of a stir. When he practiced on Tuesday, coach Dradi observed quietly as he pulverized one disc after another. He'd then stalked off muttering, "He's only 15, but he's so good."
His teammates are equally impressed. "It's really impressive how good he is considering how little he has shot," says Sangram Dahiya, who at 27, is the senior-most of the three-member double trap team.
Indeed, Bharadwaj has only been shooting competitively for about two and a half years. "My older brother used to practice double trap shooting. When I was eight, I fired four rounds at a range. I knew right then that this was something I wanted to do," he says.
But the opportunity never came. It was only on his 12th birthday that Bharadwaj was able to convince his father to let him train seriously. His father, a journalist, got in touch with Asian Games gold medallist Ronjan Sodhi, who in turn, put in a word with Yoginder Singh, a former shooter who now coaches at the Karni Singh range. "I gave him a tryout on the range. Even for someone who hadn't really shot before, he seemed to have a natural understanding of where to hold the gun," recalls Singh.
Training only twice a week, Bharadwaj progressed at a much faster pace than his compatriots. Desperate to improve, he would practice his stance at home. Eventually he began training through the week too. It wasn't easy, however. In order to train at the Karni Singh range he would have to travel from Meerut nearly 80km away. "It takes three hours each way. And there are days it would take even five," he says.
"I couldn't sleep. I would get up in the night, check it three-four times to make sure I wasn't dreaming."
But the practice would pay off. Just a year into training, Bharadwaj reached the double trap final of the junior nationals. It was an event he participated in after borrowing coach Yoginder's gun as he still didn't have one of his own. He eventually got a weapon of his own a few months later. "I couldn't sleep. I would get up in the night, check it three-four times to make sure I wasn't dreaming," he says.
The gun proved lucky for Bharadwaj, who went on to make the junior squad four times. He finished 14th at the Junior World Cup in Suhl and improved on that with a gold medal in both the individual and team events at the Junior Grand Prix in Porpetto, Italy in July last year.
He made a mark at the senior level too. At the shooting nationals in Jaipur in November last year, he led after qualifying with a round of 136 (out of 150). He would eventually falter in the final round, finishing fourth in the senior and fifth in the junior event. It was a disappointing end to the competition but Bharadwaj would make amends. The Indian team for the three World Cups in 2017 was being decided on the basis of an average of the national qualifying round and two selection trials held later in December. Bharadwaj would shoot scores of 122 and 136 in the trials to make the cut.
While Bharadwaj seems to have found the going relatively smooth in his chosen sport he insists it's far from the case. "There are times I feel a little lonely because I don't have anyone my age to relate to," he says. "I've got so much more to learn. I have perhaps only two percent of the knowledge I need in this sport. I need to learn about physical and mental training. I am still trying to learn about adjusting for wind, rain and snow."
Bharadwaj says he still makes mistakes even in positioning the gun. "Every now and then I'll get a blue bruised shoulder. That's because instead of placing the stock of the gun on my shoulder, I rest it on my collarbone. And the next day I'll realise what I've done wrong," he says.
In the past this might not be much cause for concern. He is only 15 with many years in which to gain experience. But Bharadwaj might not have a lot of time to improve his skill in the double trap. On Wednesday, the ISSF will decide whether to drop the event from the Olympics, making the sport redundant. "It will be very depressing for me," says Bharadwaj. "I'll probably have to learn another event."
His coaches are keeping their fingers crossed and preparing for the year ahead. "Even if they drop double trap, it will still feature in the tournaments for this year. I expect Shapath to reach a top three position in at least one of the three World Cups this year. If he does that, he will be able to qualify for the World Championships," says Yoginder.
For Bharadwaj though, these are still many months away. His immediate task is on the course in a few days' time. And that's not all. "I've got my books from home. I'll be studying when I can," he says.