Tura, Jan 17: An old adage goes as such ‘where there is a will, there is always a way’. In sports, the adage fits things to a T as it does in the case of Litina Aye.
25 year old Litina was born in Kohima, Nagaland and began a career in shooting while she was in the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in school.
“I have been participating at the national level of shooting while in the NCC but in Nagaland there is a lack of shooting ranges and things became difficult to continue my passion,” said Aye during an interview this afternoon in Tura where she is representing the East Khasi Hills district in shooting.
The lack of opportunities meant that Aye was on the lookout for opportunities. Fortunately for her, a friend of hers is a resident in the capital city of Shillong and was also involved in the sport.
“I got interested after seeing her posts online. She continually updated what she was doing and after speaking to the general secretary of the Meghalaya Shooting Association, I moved to Shillong to train. I have been training here since last April and have taken part in the state and NE level events in Shooting,” she said.
For Aye, Meghalaya is a pride as it is the state, its association and government that has given her a lot of opportunities to not only her but other shooters as well.
She already has a huge list of achievements, some of which came at the national and regional level and will look to add more gold to her cabinet in the games.
Aye already won gold at the 6th North East Zonal Shooting Championship, Aizawl, Mizoram in 2018- in the 10M Air Pistol Women Individual event and another in the next edition in the 25 meter air pistol in 2019. She won a bronze in the 10 metre the same year.
In the 8th edition of the NEZ shooting championship, she took home another silver in 2021 when the championship was held in Guwahati.
Aye further took part in many national level shooting events including 63rd National Shooting Championship (NSCC) in small bore and Pistol events, Bhopal, MP in the Renowned Shot in 25M Sports Pistol Women (ISSF) Civilian Championship (Individual) . This took place in 2020. She took part in the same events again next year when the 64th National Shooting Championship(NSCC) took place in New Delhi in 2021.
Commenting on her sport, Aye asserted that while her sport seemed easy but it required a lot of calm under pressure along with constant practice.
“We need to control our mind, our heartbeat and be patient. The beauty of the sport is that there is no age bar. If you lift a gun, you can shoot. Our sport also helps in developing our personality,” she stated.
“Earlier there was a lot of nervousness when facing competition but in this edition of the Meghalaya Games I am calm. Now I feel that I need to compete only with myself. This Meghalaya Games has been a life changer for me.
Commenting on the 5th edition of the Games in Tura, she felt the government’s impetus for the town needed to be lauded.
“Tura has been amazing as has been the infrastructure that has been put up. The hostels and accommodation that have been provided have been great as has been everything else. They have been providing us with vehicle services and the food has also been good. I really want to thank the government and the organizers for their part in the Games,” said Aye.
On the shooting infrastructure that has been prepared, Aye felt the lighting could be improved in the shooting arena as the shadows in the range were a major distraction.
Aye further wanted to thank the government of the state for providing opportunities for her and her compatriots to take up the sport and hoped the same continued.
Aye will be seen in two events in shooting, the 10 metre and 25 meter air pistol with hope of winning both.