Olympic Games 2024 are going on. Recently many shooting events took place in which India also won medals. India’s Manu Bhaker also won two bronze medals in shooting. If you have also seen the shooting events in the Olympics, then you must have seen that during the shooting, the shooters stand in a line and take aim. But, have you noticed that whenever shooters shoot, they keep one in their trouser pockets. Olympic medal winner Manu Bhaker had also done the same. So do you know why shooters do this?
In what kind of shooting does this happen?
Before knowing the reason behind one hand in the pocket of the shooters, let us tell you in which competition this happens. Regarding this, General Secretary of Haryana Shooting Association, Ashok Mittal said that when there is a pistol event, the shooters have to use only one hand. One has to aim simultaneously while one hand is free. But, in rifle and shotgun both hands are used and support is given to the gun with both hands.
Why do you keep one hand in your pocket?
Let us tell you that in pistol events from 10 meters to more meters, one hand is free. In such a situation, every athlete uses it in different ways according to his own. But the shooter keeps one hand stable only. Ashok Mittal told that shooters keep one hand stable to balance their body weight. When one hand remains stable then the balance of the body remains correct. In such a situation, one hand is kept stable with someone’s support.
Mittal told that it is not necessary that the hand is kept in the pocket for body balance, but body balance is controlled in many ways. Like many people keep one hand in the pocket, many shooters hook the thumb of one hand in the belt hook of the trousers, many shooters do this by tucking the hand in the trousers and some shooters do this by placing the hand on the waist. At the same time, it has been said in some reports that people also do this for constriction.
How was India’s performance in shooting?
India had a disappointing campaign in shooting at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics and did not win any medal. India has just won two bronze medals in the Paris Olympics, and both of them have come in shooting and both the events were of pistol shooting.