Aim it right

Flaunting her trendy headgear, her shades gleaming in the sun and her wrist bands making a style statement, 17-year-old Albha Oberoi surely isn't talking fashion here. She's simply dressing up for her evening shooting classes that are an everyday affair now that she's practicing to participate in the Kumar Surender Singh National Championship scheduled to be held in June. Fresh out of class XII, while Albha is ready to join a product designing course, she's been practicing regularly to realize her dream of becoming the world shooting champ like Abhinav Bindra.

A winner all the way, Albha first developed a penchant for the sport when she was just 14.

"I always had an inclination for shooting as I watched it on TV. My grandfather, who was in the Army, would narrate his tales of his adventures with shooting. So when my coach Mayank Marwah started hobby classes in school, I was quick to join. Within a few months he had already identified a winner in me," recalls this promising young sharpshooter, an alumnus of Summer Valley School.

Her parents, too, have been very supportive. "My Dad Pranveer, AGM at Lintas Pharmaceuticals, and mother Anuradha, a teacher of Geography at my school, were pretty excited when they first heard about my decision to join classes. I can't thank them enough for letting me experience the thrill of this sport which was initially considered to be suitable only for boys," smiles Albha.

At her latest tourney, the All India Open Shooting Championship held at Punjab Armed Police Shooting Range in Jalandhar, Punjab, in November last year, Albha participated in the 10 metres air pistol event and averaged a score of 360. This makes her eligible to enter the trials for selection of the national team in the Air Pistol Junior Women's category. The score required to enter the national trials is a minimum of 350.

After bagging two silver medals in her very first competitive event at the state and district level, young shooter took to sharp shooting in all earnest bagging her first gold at the All-India Inter-School Shooting Championship held at Amity University, Noida in 2007. She also boasts of winning gold medals at the state level in 2008 and 2009 championships and a silver medal at the All-India Inter School finals last year.

Determined to join the league of champs, this budding shooter follows a rigorous practice schedule. "My day begins at 5 and then I'm at the range for my yoga session and holding practice. The evenings again are devoted to shooting practices and Saturdays are for practice matches with other shooters," she reveals.

"My immediate plans are to qualify for the national team and be known as a world-class shooter just like my idols Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Jaspal Rana and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Academically I plan to pursue a degree in industrial designing. That way I'll be able to strike the perfect balance between academics and my career," she declares.