The story of Raman Rao, a shooting coach from Rewari district, brings to mind the timeless words of philosopher Confucius: "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."
Through determination and sustained effort, Rao has delivered remarkable results in producing world-class shooters. What makes his journey truly inspirational is his commitment to training aspiring shooters despite challenges such as age and financial constraints.
For instance, Rao's trainee Chahak Yadav, daughter of police constable Sunil Kumar and a student of a government school, brought laurels to the country by winning a silver medal in the 10m Air Pistol Youth Women's category and a gold medal as part of the Indian team in the Asian Rifle/Pistol Shooting Championship 2026.
Chahak scored 574 out of 600 points at the international event held at Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi in February this year, where 315 shooters from 20 Asian countries participated.
"Chahak was selected in the junior category of the Asian Shooting Championship last year as well, but she could not participate due to financial constraints," said Rao.
As per the policy of the Sports Authority of India, participants in the junior category must bear their own expenses. Due to financial limitations, Chahak could not take part in last year's event and even considered quitting the sport.
However, her coach and fellow players encouraged her not to give up. Eventually, her relentless efforts bore fruit and she bagged a silver medal in this year's championship.
Rao's trainee Aman Jinagal, a hearing-and speech-impaired youth with vision in only one eye, has also qualified at the national level and has been selected to represent the country internationally.
Sushma Yadav, a 62-year-old homemaker trained by Rao, has also created history by winning a gold medal in the Senior Masters category of the 10-metre pistol shooting event at the 68th National Shooting Championship.
Sushma, who secured Haryana's first gold medal in this category, attributed her success to her coach and family.
In fact, Rao's shooting academy has been producing world-class players since 2017, with its first international breakthrough made by Abhishek Arya, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Airgun Championship in Tokyo.
In his international debut, Priyanshu Yadav clinched a Gold Medal for India at the Asian Shooting Championship in Korea in 2023. He was awarded a prize money of Rs 1 crore for his achievement.
Over the past 10 years, shooters trained by Rao have won more than 300 medals across various championships and tournaments, including 21 national championships, along with several state-level and international events.
Seven of his trainees have joined the Indian Army and Air Force under the sports quota, while 13 have secured government jobs in Haryana. Two shooters trained by Rao have also been selected for Khelo India Games.
The coach continues to train and inspire budding shooters with a missionary zeal, hoping his students will continue to bring laurels to the country.
However, Rao's journey has been difficult - and at times heartbreaking.
"When I started my shooting journey in 2010, the path was riddled with obstacles. At that time, there were no shooting ranges in or around Rewari, and the nearest range was in Delhi. A few years later, a shooting range was established in Gurugram. I was working as a guest lecturer at a polytechnic college. I would travel to Gurugram every day after my classes for practice," Rao recalls.
After six years of relentless effort, he competed at the international level. However, due to time and other constraints, he eventually had to step away from active competition.
Following this, Rao turned to coaching and worked consistently to make shooting more accessible for aspirants from ordinary backgrounds facing multiple challenges.
The rest, as they say, is history.