New Delhi: When Divyansh Panwar broke into India’s senior rifle team five years ago, he stood out for his long hair and an excessively arched shooting stance. His marksmanship soon became excellent, propelling him to the top of world rankings and making him a medal contender at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

The journey post Tokyo has been tough for the 21-year-old; international success has been far and few, competition at the domestic circuit has increased and Panwar is in the middle of tweaking his technique. His stance has become a lot straighter, reducing the stress on his back. Through this, there is the lingering disappointment of missing the Paris Olympics after Sandeep Singh and Arjun Babuta edged him out in the final trials for the 10m air rifle.

In a week from now, as Indian shooters embark on the 2028 Los Angeles cycle with the World Cup Finals in New Delhi, Panwar will be in action again, determined to regain his form and confidence. It’s the stage that rewarded him with the first major international success of his career – he won the individual and mixed team events at the World Cup Finals in Putian, China in 2019 – and Panwar will hope the latest iteration will relaunch his career.

“Doing well at the World Cup Finals will mean a lot to my confidence and belief. It’s been a while since I climbed the podium. It’ll be the start of a new Olympic cycle and I want to begin well,” he says.

“I got over the disappointment of not making it to the Paris team in no time. It took me a day at best. I’m not a believer of blaming destiny for poor results. I can proudly say that I gave my best but it was not good enough. We must not forget that others shot better than me,” he adds.

Panwar followed the Olympics “as a hardcore sports fan”, particularly enjoying the high-octane men’s javelin final. He tracked the shooting events and empathised with Babuta who finished fourth. “Arjun is a dear friend, so I know how gutted he was. Even now, if someone brings up the Paris final, he goes into a shell,” he says.

Panwar and Babuta will line up together for the World Cup Finals. The two rarely talk shooting. Much of their conversation is about keeping the mind calm. “At the end of the day, shooting is a mental sport. It is one area I need to get stronger, so part of our chit-chat is how to stay focussed for long durations,” he says.

Panwar agrees that while he pushed himself “the hardest I have ever done” in the run-up to Paris, gaps remained on the mental side. “It’s a common issue in our fraternity. The mind tends to wander, sometimes just when you are about to pull the trigger. You need to be in the moment to shoot well.”

Panwar’s mind, he says, would take him to the result and its implications rather than the process. His ways to deal with it are varied, ranging from slow chants of Om, deep breaths, listening to the music that’s playing at the range, or cursing himself. He puts it to the overtly intense approach of Indian shooters.

“We need to be more relaxed. If you look at the Chinese or the Americans, they don’t approach sport as if their life depends on it. For them, shooting is a part of life; for us, it is the centre of our existence. That’s the reason they are able to raise their game at the highest stage,” he says.

Panwar hence took a three-month break from shooting after the Olympics selection trials and headed to Indonesia with a friend, where he did some shooting at a range in Jakarta. He is now planning a trip to the USA to try and pick the brains of top shooters there.

“The Indonesia trip was 40 percent shooting 60 percent personal. Someday, I would like to go on a solo trip, explore the world and discover myself.” For now though, it’s the familiar Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range that beckons. “It will be the start of a new journey.”

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