Shapath Bharadwaj [Deleted]

Biography

Shapath Bhardwaj is a young Indian shotgun shooter who is popular for his success in the junior international shooting events.

Shapath Bhardwaj's parents are journalists based in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh; his father S Raju Bharadwaj is a journalist, so is his mother. His elder brother Shrey Bharadwaj is also a shooter.

Image: Shapath Bharadwaj with his parents

Shapath Bharadwaj Interesting Facts & Trivia

• Shapath's father got Shapath a wooden gun at a young age to practice with, the carpenter was said to be very scared assuming it was illegal.
• He comes from a modest background, usually shooting as a sport is taken by the affluent who can support themselves.
• Shapath used to hitchhike his way to the practice stadium, or he would share the ride with a fellow shooter.
• He trains at the Karni Singh range, Meerut, where he trains three times a week.
• It is his mother who takes him to the nearby events, she drives a Tata Nano.
• Being of school going age, it is difficult to fit both shooting and studies in the same time, he often studies and eats on the backseat of car on the way to shooting practice.
• Accident: The car Shapath was travelling got hit by a truck when they tried to avoid hitting a reckless biker. Both Shapath and his mother were unharmed, however the back of the car was severely hit.
• Gun on loan: The gun used for the shotgun event is costly, it cost Shapath's father 7 Lakh INR, which was arranged through loans from friends and relatives, previously Shapath used a rented shotgun.
• He is the youngest Indian shooter to be a part of the national senior team.
• He won bronze at the Junior world cup held at Italy(2017) by the International Sports Shooting Federation.
• He started his shooting practice at the Pilhara Shooting Range, Meerut.
• Shapath used to practice without an own shotgun till late 2014. He is seriously into the game since 2014.
• He is mentored by Ronjan Sodhi, a former Indian Olympian in the shooting department.
• Shapath is part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, a scheme by the Govt. of India to support possible medal winners. He is the youngest one among the 45 selected by the panel which has also selected stalwarts like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Sakshi Malik, Kidambi Srikanth among others.
• In 2014 Shapath won at the Uttarakhand State shotgun championship.
• Danielle Di Spignio ( Italy) is the foreign coach of Shapath, they were co-contestants at the Cyprus World cup.
• Double Gold Medal at the junior world cup: He won double gold at the International Junior Grand Prix held in Italy.
• He moved to senior competitions from junior in February 2017, and is the youngest in the world to do that.
• Youngest player in the world to make it to World cup finals in the Double trap shooting event. Asher Noria who held the previous record was 18 years old at the time.
• World record: He holds the world record of scoring 139/150 in the junior international arena.
• His mentor Rajan Sodhi says this about Shapath- "I haven't run into a talent like Shapath in my entire career. He will soon be unstoppable"

Shapath Bharadwaj Quotes

• I'm not bad in studies but these exams will be hard
• When I was eight I fired four rounds at a range. I knew right then that this was something I wanted to do.
• On owning the gun, on having a own gun becoming a reality "I couldn't sleep. I would get up in the night, check it three-four times to make sure I wasn't dreaming."
• There are times I feel a little lonely because I don't have anyone my age to relate to