Uttar Pradesh has produced several notable trap shooters who have represented India at international and national levels such as Seema Tomar, Shardul Vihan, Zuhair Khan and Sabeera Haris.
The latest addition to the list is Meerut’s Shapath Bharadwaj, who will be representing a six-member Indian trap shooting contingent for the Asian Games in Aichi–Nagoya this September-October.
Bharadwaj, who grew up watching a culture of shooting in western Uttar Pradesh, was quick to learn the sport at an early age and first burst onto the national scene in 2017 as a 14-year-old.
He became the youngest shooter to make India’s World Cup team, earning a place in the senior double-trap squad and briefly occupying the world No.16 ranking. Nearly a decade later, after a series of interruptions that would have derailed many careers, Bharadwaj is back where he belongs.
Now 24, he has so far won 10 international medals, including five gold, two silver and three bronze. His medals tally in nationals, zonal and state meets stand at 23, including nine gold, nine silver and five bronze.
Bharadwaj’s early trajectory was meteoric but unstable. Double trap, his first senior event, was removed from the Olympic programme in 2018, pushing him to switch disciplines. He moved to trap at the junior level, a technical and mental shift that demanded fresh adaptation. Yet Bharadwaj’s ambitions did not fade.
He made some interesting choices off the range. A decision to pursue higher education led him to the International Olympic Academy in Greece, where he completed a Master’s degree in Olympic Studies in 2023.
That academic interlude might have become a permanent detour. “While in Greece, I had thought of leading an easy life by working after my Master’s. I had offers for PhD from various universities in Europe. But once you have been a sportsperson, it is difficult to keep yourself away from sports,” Bharadwaj said on Tuesday.
He returned to India determined to reclaim his shooting career, but this wasn’t easy. Bharadwaj lost government funding and corporate sponsorships after double trap was scrapped and he fell out of TOPS support. Even the cushion provided by OGQ, a private benefactor, evaporated during his break. Financial insecurity compounded the psychological burden. “Coming back with no financial support was really tough,” he said.
This wasn’t all as In July last year, just as he planned his comeback, an ACL injury threatened to reset progress. Rapid rehabilitation brought him back by late August, but the injury forced him to rebuild. “I had to start from the basics,” he said, acknowledging the grueling process of retraining technique, confidence, and conditioning.
Equally taxing were the voices that greeted his return. Detractors told him that stepping away meant he could not regain his earlier level whereas some said his early success was the peak of his ceiling. Those doubts might have been decisive for a less focussed athlete.
Bharadwaj filtered that noise and listened only to his parents, mentor, and coach, a tight support triangle that carried him through long sessions, rehab routines, and the mental work of overcoming self-doubt. “It is a very good feeling to be back in the seniors’ squad,” he said. “After coming back from Greece last year, it has been very challenging. There were a lot of mental, physical, and technical blocks I had to get rid of.”
Bharadwaj’s return has been marked by steady results. He won silver at the National Championships earlier this year. In just eight months after recommitting to full-time shooting, he secured a place on the senior Indian team, earning selection for his first Asian Games.
Bhardwaj’s story is a reminder of sport’s precarious balance between talent, opportunity, and support. But his next challenge will be to convert a hard-fought reunion with the elite into sustained excellence — a task that, given his resilience so far, he appears prepared to pursue.
