PUNE: Amol Deokule understands the significance of representing one's country on a global platform. Although the former shooter himself never competed at the highest level, his dream is now being realized through his daughter Ankita. Amol, who is now a US citizen, is filled with pride seeing Ankita earn a spot on the US squad for the Munich World Cup, which begins on May 24. Ankita will represent the United States in the women's 25m sports pistol event.
A Dream Fulfilled Through His Daughter
Ankita becomes the second shooter of Indian origin to join the US team, following Suman Sanghera, who has represented the nation in numerous international competitions. Suman is also part of the team heading to Munich. In an exclusive interview with TOI from Ohio, Ankita expressed her emotions: "It is a moment of pride for me. Representing my country at the highest level is like a dream coming true. I am looking forward to giving my best at a competition that will feature the best in the sport."
Excitement to Compete Alongside Idols
Ankita will participate in an event where one of her favorite shooters, Manu Bhaker, will also be competing. "I have huge respect for Manu. I watched her 25m match at the Paris Games. I am excited to shoot in Munich," she said.
Background and Journey
Ankita was born in the United States, while her father Amol moved to the country in the early 2000s. An IT professional by career, Amol was a shooter who competed at the national level before giving up the sport for professional reasons. "I was born and brought up in Mumbai and represented Maharashtra in 10m air rifle events in the late 1990s. But then I had to give up the sport for my career," he explained.
Amol never anticipated that introducing Ankita to shooting after the COVID-19 outbreak would lead to this. "After the pandemic, I wanted to start shooting again. My friends here, who used to shoot rifle, switched to pistol. Even I thought of resuming the sport, but this time with pistol. I used to take my daughters Ankita and Anjali to the range. Ankita developed an interest and started shooting air pistol in 2021, then picked up 25m sports pistol in early 2023," he shared. He added, "She began participating in state meets that same year, and her game improved significantly when she joined the Ohio State University pistol team and started training under Emil Milev, the 1996 Atlanta Games silver medalist."
