Shooting star speaks of grooming local stars

SHILLONG, OCT 19: To many in Meghalaya, shooting as a game is foreign leave alone professional shooting, but for young Melanie Pariat shooting that too at national competitive level is a passion. Ironically the young talent from this beautiful hilly state has represented Assam where she is studying. Because shooting as a competitive game is yet to take root in Meghalaya, she represented Assam and brought laurel at the National Shooting Championship.

In 2010 Pariat bagged  the silver medal in the National Shooting Championship in Faridabad besides bringing laurels to her school Assam Valley School, Balipara by clinching a gold medal in the 10 meter Air Pistol Shooting in the junior category during the 8^th All Assam Shooting Championship held in Guwahati between September 12 to 14 last year.

Though biologically Pariat may be young, but she has matured well in her shooting game and now wants to help budding shooters from her home state Meghalaya. Daughter of the Meghalaya Information & Public Relations (MIPR) director HM Shangpliang, she is now in Shillong helping the Shooting Association of Meghalaya to hunt budding talents and groomed them to represent the state in the national championship.

Melanie Pariat took time off from judging the shooting talent hunt in St Anthony’s stadium on Saturday to speak this www.ohmeghalaya.com website on her shooting dreams and how she could be of immense help to Meghalaya in building up and training young shooters from her home state Meghalaya.

Melanie Pariat also demonstrated the techniques of shooting to young and budding shooters of the state during the shooting hunt on Saturday.

Following is an excerpt from the interview:

Question: How do you see the scope of shooting in Meghalaya?

Pariat: Meghalaya has capability but I think we need to make a team and this is the only way we can represent at the national championships.

Question: Since Meghalaya does not have infrastructure for the game of shooting, How do you propose we build up the shooting a popular  in Meghalaya?

Pariat: The moment we can get a shooting team we can explore the possibility of building up indoor as well as outdoor shooting ranges in the state. Am sure if we persist we will succeed.

Question: What tips you can give to the budding shooters of the state to scale up their talent?

Pariat:  A shooter needs to concentrate on physical exercise; a good diet and one can even do yoga since shooting requires lot of concentration, stamina and strength.

Question: After bringing laurels to Assam and your school at the state and national level, what are your future plans?

Pariat:  I would like to open a shooting academy and would want to have a shooting range as I never had my own facilities when I was practicing to be a professional shooter. However the school where I was studying provided me with the grounding needed to grow as a professional shooter. Shooting might look very easy but it is very difficult.

And yesterday in Pynursula I was really surprise when I saw people just picking up the pistols and started shooting and it turned out very well. They deserve every support the state and professional like me can provide to hone their shooting talents.

Question: How did you became a professional shooter and went on to even participate at national championship for Assam?

Pariat: I studied in Assam Valley School and there we received professional training and they taught us every bit of shooting. I represented the school at the state level competitions, won medals and later was picked up to represent Assam. I also picked up medal for Assam at the national shooting competition. – By Our Reporter