Sharp shooter Dhanush Srikanth – India’s first deaflympic champion – is targeting a podium performance at the Paris Olympics next year.
He shared his medal dreams with the GDN through sign language during a 10-day break in Bahrain to meet up with members of his extended family.
“I know that I need to be extremely focused as I am competing against abled-bodied contenders – amongst shooters who can hear and speak, which means they can communicate easily – it is a luxury that I don’t have,” the determined 20-year-old said.
“So I need to put in that extra effort. I am passionate about shooting and I’m ready to work hard.”
Hearing and speech impaired since birth, Srikanth recently hit the sporting headlines when he broke the 2019 record of German marksman Colin Muller in the men’s 10m air rifle final during a competition in Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
“I was always interested in sports and used to play a lot with toy guns as a child – and that’s perhaps how I got into shooting,” Dhanush said in an interview with the GDN at his aunt’s residence in Saar – speaking in sign language, which his mother, Asha, helped to interpret.
Srikanth has a cochlear implant, a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing.
The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin. It does not restore normal hearing. Instead, it can give a deaf person a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help him or her to understand speech.
“I have faced criticism in the past from other shooters who felt that I should only be competing in a ‘special needs’ category – this used to hurt my feelings but I eventually learned to ignore them and now I’m OK with it – I focus only on my performance,” he said.
“Although I enjoy playing in the deaflympics camp too, I like the challenge of competing against all-comers. I’ve always wanted to be the best, and all I have on my mind right now is doing well in all upcoming contests and the 2024 Olympics.
“My message to everyone – regardless of your challenges, strengths, or weaknesses – is to never give up and to keep trying until you achieve your goals.”
The sporting star won titles across junior, youth and senior categories at the 2018 Telangana State Shooting Championships. He also took the U21 gold medal in the 10m air rifle at the 2019 Khelo India Youth Games, as well as two golds in the 2019 Junior Asian Championships in Doha before topping the leaderboard in Lima, Peru during the 2021 Junior World Championships.
“Every match I play is a lesson – I get to learn something new and each match teaches me that there is lot more still to achieve – and this keeps me going,” he added with a smile.
Dhanush practices at acclaimed Olympian Gagan Narang’s shooting academy ‘Gun for Glory’ and is also a second degree Dan in taekwondo. He is also an artist prolific at painting.
After a nine-month stint of constant training, travelling and competing he was instructed by his coach Neha Chavan to take a well-earned rest and break … and Bahrain has proved to be the perfect location, visiting his aunt Nisha Ranga, former president of the Indian Ladies Association.
“I’ve visited Bahrain in the past as a child and when urged to take a break I decided to come back – mainly to be with my aunt and uncle – although a close second was to smell the country’s beautiful collection of perfumes – I love Arabian fragrances,” he said.
“I love shopping too and enjoy picking up exquisite fragrances from Bahrain’s suqs and malls.
“I love going around Bahrain’s mosques, the museum and the beaches and even driving around Bahrain is a joy.
“Yet, the best is the ‘feeling of home’ which this country offers. The people are friendly. I love it here and look forward to coming back again.”
Dhanush is the only son of businessman Srikanth Ranganathan and Asha Srikanth and the family resides in Hyderabad, India.
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