India’s first individual Olympic Gold medallist Abhinav Bindra has written to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has offered to help mentally condition shooters. Including the incident of 26-year-old shooter Konica Layak passing by suicide on Wednesday, the sport has recently seen four deaths by suicide. Bindra addressed his letter to NRAI President Raninder Singh.
“Prima facie, it’s a suicide case. We have found a suicide note,” said a police official. “It seems she wasn’t happy with the opportunity she was getting and was mentally depressed. However, the probe is on.”
Apart from Konica, who died in Bally, Howrah, state-level shooter Hunardeep Singh Sohal ended his life in October, and as did Namanveer Singh Brar, who had won bronze at the World University Games. Last week, Khushseerat Kaur Sandhu, who had competed at the Junior World Championships in October, ended her life as well.
“I am writing to bring your kind attention to recent incidents of athlete suicides in the country. The news has startled me on a very personal note and I feel that to prevent any further loss of lives, we must act quickly and responsibly,” read the letter, which Bindra tweeted.
“Athletes are also human; are prone to anxiety, depression, and need to be given a safe and conducive atmosphere to pursue excellence. Our intention is to help athletes, coaches. Through this letter, I wish to offer the time and energy of my team to help the athletes, coaches, administrators, parents, and others in the sporting ecosystem in need. I hope you will accept my proposal and allow us to conduct a few virtual sessions…focusing on the awareness and mental wellness of stakeholders at all levels in the ecosystem.”
Konica, who was a Jharkhand-state Gold medallist, had been training with Joydeep Karmakar since July. The 2012 London Games finalist had invited her to train under his tutelage.
“I read about her in some newspaper which mentioned that she wishes to train in Kolkata at our academy. I got in touch with her and decided to give her admission for free, and give her 50 percent off on all the official charges,” Karmakar was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Karmakar asserts Layak had been diligent in her training, but had not attended training sessions for the past 10-odd days. When contacted, Layak told her coaches that she had been sick and will re-join shortly.
“What I heard today is that while she said she wasn’t well, she had gone to attend a hostel-mate’s wedding outside Kolkata, and that she only got back to Kolkata the day before yesterday,” he added. “This is what I got to know from the family. I don’t know what exactly transpired, but the police are investigating.”
The Arjuna Awardee coach also added that she had been making rapid strides in terms of her skills.
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