Like father, like son: Adriyan Karmakar follows Joydeep's footsteps to World Cup glory

From training daily in Delhi summers, where the temperature would hover above 40 degrees Celsius, Indian shooters were thrust into a great challenge of adjusting to the two degrees Celsius weather in Suhl at the first ISSF Junior World Cup of the year last month.

Yet, the Indian contingent topped the medal tally in the German city, winning a total of 11 medals.

Leading the charge for India in Suhl was the young Adriyan Karmakar, who won two medals – a silver and a bronze – in what was his ISSF Junior World Cup debut.

"It was more or less about braving the weather," Adriyan, the son of former Indian shooter and national coach Joydeep Karmakar, told The Bridge.

"But I took a cold shower in the morning, so that my body was accustomed to the winter temperature. If you take a hot shower and then you go out, the contrast gets to you," he added.

Adriyan's first medal in the competition was a silver in the men's 50m rifle prone event. Coincidentally, it was the same event his father won a medal at the 2010 ISSF Shooting World Cup in Sydney around a decade-and-a-half back.

"I knew he played the same event that he had. But I, I didn't know that he had a World Cup medal," Adriyan said. "He has won a lot of medals in his international career, I don't remember every medal he has won.

"It was only after the match when he told me over a phone call that I found out," he added with a chuckle.

Adriyan shot in the ISSF Junior World Cup Suhl with the rifle Joydeep used during his heartbreaking fourth-place finish at the 2012 London Olympics 13 years back.

Early days

The 20-year-old Adriyan has no qualms in accepting that he might not have found shooting, if he was born in any other family. Having grown up with shooters all around him, often accompanying his father to the Indian camps back in the day, the youngster took to the sport like fish to water.

Adriyan first started shooting at a tender age of seven under the guidance of his father. But, he had a head start even before.

"Since the day I was born, I have only seen shooting," he said. "So, I used to always discuss shooting. I already had a head start before I started when I was seven.

"I already knew shooting terms. I was familiar with shooting lingo, and it was just my second language. I could understand whatever dad used to say, and my father used to understand whatever I used to say because I used shooting language," he further explained.

The early start in the sport saw him compete in the West Bengal state sub-youth championship in 2012 as a seven-year-old. It was his first-ever competition, something he vividly remembers.

Joydeep had just brought him an open side rifle from the United States. This was unlike the break barrel rifle, which you usually find in India and is easier to load bullets into and fire.

The open side had to be loaded like a normal rifle with a chamber and pumped around six to seven times before shooting.

"The first four times it was nice, because the pressure was not so much," recalled Adriyan. " But the last three, four times, it was so difficult, it was very tight. You couldn't close it."

It was so difficult to handle that Adriyan got a special permission from the organisers, allowing his father to pump the rifle after every shot.

The father happily did it for the entire 40-shot final, and the son ended up winning a gold medal in his first-ever competition.

Adriyan hasn't looked back ever since. He soon moved to the Olympic standard AR20 Hammerli, his first peep side rifle.

He started with the 10m air rifle event, but soon found his calling in the 50m events.

"I started with a 10-meter air rifle and then I shifted to 50-meter prone and then 3-position eventually," revealed Adriyan. "I initially liked 10m but grew bored of it, especially after I tried 50m.

"It [10m air rifle] is a very repetitive sport, so I lean towards 50m more. That's how I shifted my main events. But I was always a 10m guy," he added.

The turning point for Adriyan came when he won a gold medal at the Khelo India Youth Games in 2022. The win helped him get a spot at the Sports Authority of India's National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) in Delhi.

With the lack of 50m shooting ranges at his home base in Kolkata, Adriyan jumped on the opportunity and has been training at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range for the past three years.

Tucked away in a hostel, away from family, Adriyan finds his solace in music.

"Music is my safe space. I listen to rock and R&B, definitely some unpopular stuff," he said with a chuckle.

Having won two medals on his ISSF Junior World Cup debut, Adriyan now has his eyes set on the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan. The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics also remains his major long-term goal.

But more importantly, he says, he shoots for personal satisfaction.

"Mostly what I strive for is my satisfaction and how much I can give and be at my personal best," he signed off.