Life after Olympics: Vijay Kumar on living as a champion

“It feels empty. It’s like being at the top of a mountain, you keep climbing and then suddenly there is nothing — it’s just a kind of emptiness.” That was how Abhinav Bindra described his feelings on becoming the country’s first individual Olympic gold medallist (Beijing 2008). It’s probably the most honest account of how a man feels after achieving ultimate glory. A few months have passed since the Indian contingent returned home to rousing welcomes — with interview requests going through the roof and fans going mad to get a glimpse of them. But the dust, so to speak, has now settled. The athletes have once again resumed their lonely journey to the next Olympics. The silence, though, now feels different. But these thoughts don’t matter for Vijay Kumar — winner of a silver medal at London 2012 and world number two in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol category. He recently also won the National Shooting Championship gold. [caption id=“attachment_578204” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Vijay Kumar — not just stopping at an Olympic medal. Reuters[/caption] “I’ve never actually thought about these things. It’s only when you ask me such questions, does it occur to me that this could happen. I’ve always focused on my sport… nothing else ever mattered.” Carrying the badge of being an Olympic champion is not easy. People expect more from you – especially your fellow competitors, and Vijay agrees that he’s being pushed to the limit by India’s upcoming shooters. “The competition now is massive. In 2003, we had about seven hundred shooters at trials. Now, we have around seven thousand. The level is very high and we have a good fight. I have to continuously maintain my performance.” But does he feel that he’s head and shoulders above the rest of the shooters? “Not at all,” quips Kumar. “I take each competition in the same way. A match is a match and I have to handle the pressure of being an Olympic medallist in each one of them.” And handling that pressure is where mental fitness comes in. “It’s right for people to see me and know ‘he’s the man.’ That recognition is still there and you have to live up to it.” Not only has he learnt how to handle pressure of the game, Kumar has never minced his words when it comes to speaking to the media. Usually of calm demeanor, his opinions caused a bit of a controversy regarding an army promotion after he won the Olympic medal. When Firstpost spoke to him at a press conference following his exploits in London, Kumar was very clear that he had no intention of giving an exam for a promotion. After that was sorted out, he still remains fiercely opinionated on the issue of incentives and sponsors: “No corporate sponsors have come forward, but incentives in sport have increased. However, if I get some major sponsors, the media will know before me. I’ve never compared myself to other sportsmen. All this talk about sponsors and rewards… yeh sab halla hai.” There will be lots of fans who will back Vijay on his views, and why not? He backs them up with fine performances. Early in December, he climbed to world number two and wants to go a notch higher: “I want to be world number one,” he quipped after the ISSF rankings were released . And that doesn’t look impossible. He is just 27 and in shooting, you can keep competing for a long time. It’s just you versus the bulls-eye: “I’ve never given retirement a consideration. I saw shooters over 50-years competing at London. Longevity of a shooter depends on two things: interest in the sport and performances. Till I have those two, I’m available for my country.” At the press conferences, kids milled around Kumar for autographs and photographs, but does that happen any more? “I go out with my friends very freely… no security and all that. If someone recognises me, they’re most welcome to come and speak. But I don’t expect that to happen. I don’t go out with a mindset that I’m an Olympic champion and need to be mobbed by fans.”