The thrill of the Rio Games is gone, but the angst over not winning any laurels home continue to trouble some of the country&’s big name in the game, who have long put their hearts and souls and gave their best.

Athlete Gagan Narang, London Olympic medallist, came back empty handed this time and is still struggling to overcome his debacle at the Rio Olympics. Speaking exclusively to thestatesman.com Narang shared what went wrong in the Olympics and gave a road map on how India can perform better in the biggest sporting event.

“I am not angry but disappointed with the final output of four years of effort. Sporting achievements are transient. Some of the big names in the world of shooting ended up with pretty pathetic results in this game. All that I am saying is, one can stretch oneself to one’s limits, prepare oneself as much as possible, but if things do not fall in place on the day then it is just frustrating,” Gagan said.

Out of the three events, Gagan participated in, not even in one he could qualify for the final round which makes it more frustrating for the champion shooter.

“I had expected a medal from the 50-m prone position event, in the very least. But it was the last four shots of the qualification that did me in. I failed to assess the direction of the wind, hence shot a score that was not enough to get me into the finals. I ended 13th,” he explained.

“I started well in air rifle and I was riding high on confidence. Then a rare slip in the third series, and it all went downhill from there. Overall what’s most disappointing is that I was unable to make the final of any of the three events, he added.

Why no medal in shooting?

Not only Gagan, Abhinav Bindra, Jitu Rai and Heena Siddhu also could not open the account for India in shooting, where the maximum medals were expected. Gagan cited the reasons.

“Yes a lot of shooters- Abhinav, Jitu, Mairaj, including self, went very close but were unable to cross the finish line. I would say that we did not lack in technique or preparation. It just did not turn out to be our day,” he said.

“Although, commendable effort by Jitu Rai to make a final in his very first Olympic Games,” the 33-year-old added.

Why decrease in total medal count?

“I think Commonwealth Games 2010 was the springboard of success in the 2010 Games. Athletes were prepared to win medals at the Commonwealth Games 2010 (CWG), facilities were laid out, all difficulties ironed out,” he said.

“Six medals in London was the result of the effort put in for the CWG. Before the next four year cycle the government changed, they took time to put plans in place. Every new set of people take time to get into the groove,” he said, adding, "The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) did come but in 2015. But as everyone knows the implementation left much to be desired. I am not blaming the government. There was no lack of intent but preparation for Olympics can’t start 12/15 months before the games. To get medals, one has to work for four years.”

“Things need to work in a four-year cycle, only then can we win more medals. And now with the setting up of the task force, the government is showing its intent once again. If the system works properly, will yield great results,” the shooter further added.

The pressure of Olympics

“The pressure is Olympic-esque, I mean of Olympic proportions. It is very easy to write off athletes for non performance but there are so many things that add to one’s pressure,” he said.

“Apart from performance anxiety, at times the athlete has to try to get his/her support staff accredited. There are other issues like food, access to the support team. Organising all of these is extra stress. And there is of course pressure of performance. And that is manifold: self, parents, peers, and nation. So one really has to have nerves of steel to overcome all the difficulties.” he added.

On PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar

“Immensely proud to see them winning medals. I think an Olympic medal in sports is equivalent to Nobel Prize in academics or Fields Medal in Mathematics,” Narang said, adding, “Of course a sportsperson earns the distinction much early in life because the life span of a sportsman/woman is limited”.

“And a Olympic medal does make a huge social impact. It’s a crucial element in building a nation that is willing to move stronger, faster and higher,” the shooter said.

“Dipa is also a stupendous achievement. She is the face of young, ambitious India. She has vaulted India to gymnastics glory. And I think with the average age of the gymnastics field going up in this Olympics, one can realistically hope for Dipa to win a medal in 2020,” he said.

Roadmap to win medals

“It is important to honour medal winners and celebrate their achievements because that will make the champion of tomorrow dream big. It is also essential to have processes laid out to identify them, get them to training centres, groom them, nurture them,” he said.

“While it is important to invest in experience, India has a massive youth power and sports can effectively use it. It will be mutually beneficial for the society. Who knows where the next Olympic medallists are hidden. The idea is to begin the search now so that they can be ready for 2020, 2024 and 2028,” Narang signed off.