On the first floor of Aga Mohammed Hussain’s house, Saba Fatima aims at the target as her sister Nargis Fatima and brother Mohammed Zainulabedein watch on. “I am very strict during practice and keep giving instructions,” laughs Saba. The trio do not indulge in the usual brother-sister spats and instead regularly practice on the home trainer range installed at home. These siblings make Hyderabad proud with their shooting achievements.
Interestingly, they are fulfilling their father Hussain’s dreams. Hussain has been shooting for the past 16 years and is a renowned shot. “Since I was into shooting, the children saw me and got guidance. The biggest advantage was that the weapons were at home,” recalls Hussain on how his children took to shooting. He also adds that his fatherly instincts do not come in the way of coaching. “When I am coaching I tend to forget I am their father. I am disciplined and strict and the results show. The only reason they have come up in the field at such a young age is because of their perseverance, discipline and dedication,” he says.
While Nargis Fatima won her first national medal at the age of 11, her aim is to make it to the Olympics. “By God’s grace both Saba and Zain are in the Indian national squad,” states Hussain. Saba, whose ranking is no. 4 is practicing to take part in shooting championship later this year. “Only the top three are sent by the sports ministry and she will be going at her own cost,” says Hussain.
Recently Saba, a D. Pharm student couldn’t go to Germany because of her final year exams. “D. Pharmacy is worse than medicine; it is a five-year course and I told her not to take it because she has to study a lot,” adds the father. However, he is more than glad with Zain’s performance and feels he will bring in laurels to the country. “Zain, whose ranking is number 5 is going for selection trials; Next year, he will be representing the country but getting into the Indian squad itself is a big achievement,” he points out.
Hussain speaks of his recent visit to Uttar Pradesh. “Youngsters are working very hard and one can see them practicing for even six hours,” he adds.
What do the girls do when not shooting? “I study or attend family parties,” laughs Saba. She feels Indian women shooters are charting their own path. “There is Heena Siddhu, who is making us proud,” she beams.
On the importance of having calm nerves during shooting, Hussain says, “For shooting, one needs a temperament that is extraordinarily soft and a synchronisation of multiple things; about 20 things happen in a fraction of a second and one needs to hone the technique and register it in the sub-conscious mind. Conscious mind is very powerful and the moment you shoot with it, you tend to lose everything. One needs to blindly follow what one has put in the training. Ninety percent shooters fail because they get excited and go in for score and don’t get the technique,” he explains.
