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On September 9, yet another young achiever arrived at Hyderabad airport, but far from the enthusiastic reception that our chess players, athletes and cricketers have received, hardly anything was reported about this young shooter’s achievements. Meet Dhanush Srikanth, who recently won a gold medal at the World Deaf Shooting Championship in Germany.
Born on July 21, 2002, Dhanush, who has a hearing impairment — he wears a cochlear implant — went to a regular school and showed his inclination towards sports from the very beginning. Apart from shooting, he has excelled in Taekwondo, in which he is DAN 2.
How did he get attracted to shooting?
Dhanush, sitting with his mother, smiles and asks his mother, Asha Srikanth, to answer. “It started at the age of 14. One afternoon while returning from school he passed by the Gun For Glory Shooting Academy. He stopped, intrigued by the sport. That evening he expressed his desire to join the Academy. Like any mother who has a specially-abled child, I was also concerned, besides the Academy course was not cheap,” she said.
A basic /beginners 10-day course alone cost around ₹2,500-₹5,000, depending upon your city.
However, Dhanush’s persistence worked, and he convinced his parents, leading to a new journey. As for his parents, it was all about managing the finances and ensuring that their child was happy. After the initiation, there came a point when Dhanush needed his own shooting equipment. For this, Dhanush had to promise his father that he would excel in the sport. Once he proved his consistency, he got his own equipment. Sharing equipment for regular practice becomes very difficult as each shooter has his/ her own settings, he explained through his mother.
For Dhanush, communication too was a challenge. “In the initial stages, I used to be the channel for communication during the training sessions or matches. But, over the years, his team members have developed their own means of communicating with him,” she said, adding that “when he joined the Academy and was being picked up for the games, I had a chat with his mentor. All his mentor said was if he is focussed, nothing else matters. And focused he was. In fact, even now he is in Chennai undergoing training and managing things on his own.”
He was mentored by London Olympic Bronze medalist Gagan Narang, co-founder of Gun For Glory Shooting Academy and Expert Rifle Coach Neha Chavan.
Dhanush was the first person to shoot 400/400 at the Telangana State Shooting Championship in 2019, since his mentor Gagan Narang did so almost two decades ago. Keeping his promise to his father, Dhanush has proved his talent by breaking into the Indian shooting contingent in the general category, beating Olympians and World Cup winners in his bid to reach the top. He first shot to fame in 2019, when he won three gold medals in the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha.
He also won a team gold medal in the 2021 ISSF Junior World Championship in Lima, Peru. This is in addition to several domestic achievements, including Gold in the 2019 Khelo India Games, five medals in the National Shooting Championship, and 10 Medals in the State Championships since 2017. The high point came in 2023 when he bagged gold in the individual and the silver team medal in the 10 metre Air Rifle suhl (Germany) 2023 in the normal category.
Dhanush shows off the many awards he has bagged till date, which are displayed in this quite little flat in Sainikpuri, Secunderabad, where he stays with his grandmother and mother; his father works in the Gulf. “Covid hit us too, and finances are a challenge, “ said Asha.
Sponsorship and recognition from the State have eluded this youngster, despite his seven international medals in the normal category and four in the deaf category — 2 deaf Olympics and 2 deaf world championship. Expressing her disappointment with the State government, Asha said, “Every time he returns with a medal, we do inform the State, but no one comes forward. When Dhanush returned after winning the gold, he was hoping to be received with fanfare like other athletes get on reaching their hometowns. He, in fact, asked, whether he was not doing enough to attract applaud from the authorities.”
