Joydeep Karmakar came very close to winning a medal at the London Olympics as he finished fourth in the Men's 50m Rifle Prone event. He was recently honored with Arjuna Award for his achievements. Joydeep speaks to Gaurav Jha from Indian Sports News about his overall experience of coming so close to an Olympic medal, winning the Arjuna Award and much more.

Excerpts:

ISN: First of all tell us about the experience in London, you were participating in your first Olympics?

Joydeep: The feeling was incredible and I can’t explain it properly. It is always a dream for every athlete to compete in Olympics as is the biggest event of them all. I spoke to Olympians in the past and they told me that competing in the Olympics cannot be compared to anything. Now I have got the first-hand experience and I can say that one can’t compare Olympics to anything.

ISN: You came so close to winning a medal as you finished fourth?

Joydeep: Yes, I was disappointed that I couldn’t win the medal for my country after coming so close, but shooting is one sport in which you never know what is going to happen. I have learnt a lot from my experience and it will help me in the future.

ISN: Tell us a bit about your journey?

Joydeep: My journey has been good. It would have been a lot better if I would have secured a medal of course. But to do well in a tough competition gives you a sense of satisfaction.

ISN: Things were not easy for you as you faced financial problems before the Olympics, tell us about that?

Joydeep: Yes, it was difficult for me, but all those struggles made me more focused and stronger. The situations that I faced before the tournament gave me strength and I think that reflected in my performance. Having said that, I will hope that I don’t have to go through the same problems before the Rio Olympics.

ISN: Do you think that you coming so close to winning the medal will affect you In Rio. Will it make you nervous?

Joydeep: The performance in London Games me a lot of confidence. I can’t say that I was close to the medal because I had to beat three more people. For the next Olympics, I will have to prepare from scratch and will have to go through the process of qualifying and everything. If anything, I think London will help me as know I have the experience of competing in an Olympics.

ISN: You have been honoured with the Arjuna Award, how does it feel?

Joydeep: It feels good. To be honest with you, I was a bit surprised to see my name on the list. I never thought about winning awards whenever I thought of my shooting journey. When I started shooting, I never thought about winning awards. But it obviously feels good if your performance is noted in your country.

ISN: Finally, how would you rate the performance of the shooting contingent in London, what can we expect from in Rio.

Joydeep: In the past three Olympics, shooting team has won four medals. So, it can be said that shooting is delivering the most. The medal tally in this Olympics could have been a bit better, but as you would now how unpredictable shooting is. I won’t set a target for Rio, but I can say that our performance will be good there as well.

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