At 15, most of us were probably preparing or trying to prepare for our Standard X board exams. But Junior World Cup gold medallist shooter Anish Bhanwala is gearing up for a more intense exam at the Commonwealth Games and Shooting World Cups, along with studying for his CBSE boards.
Just a few days back, wasn’t sure if he would be able to take both the Standard X and shooting exam as the dates overlapped. He is part of the teams for the ISSF World Cup in Mexico in the first week of March, the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney after that, and the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April.
Due to this packed schedule, Bhanwala would have to miss a couple of papers of the exams starting from March 5 and there initially was no possibility of a re-exam for all subjects he was missing.
However, with a letter of recommendation from the National Rifle Association of India and an application from his school, St Theresa’s Convent in Karnal, he now has permission from the Central Board of Secondary Education to take his exams across two stints.
“CBSE replied giving me the permission to appear for the exams I am missing out on later. So I’ll take two or three now and the other compartment exams later,” Bhanwala said on the sidelines of the Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) in Mumbai on Monday.
The teenager has taken the Indian shooting circuit by storm with his record scores in recent months. But even as his exploits on the range bring him rare plaudits, the conscientious student admits that he is tense about the upcoming boards.
Back in September, the 15-year-old had told The Field that he “used to be a “90% student” but now with his shooting career, his percentage has come down to 80-85%.” Evidently a studious young man, he has appointed a personal tutor who he sits down with for about three hours a day across two sessions – something he has begun to enjoy.
“Pure saal padhai kam hui hain, (I have not studied a lot in the last year), Bhanwala said with a laugh, “But now I have tuitions in the last 10-12 days, one and a half hour in the morning and evening.”
“I have begun to enjoy the tuitions because the syllabus is being covered so my tension is relieved. I was very tensed because of the exams but as the chapters are getting done so I feel calmer” he added.
Balancing both the books and gun is not going to be an easy task but the youngster is confident of managing just fine. “Training can be reduced from five hours to three-and-half hours, the technique is still the same,” he explained. “The tutor is very nice, we have finished a good part of the syllabus in the last few weeks already.”