Hyderabad (Telangana): The floods due to torrential rain in Hyderabad damaged equipment worth Rs 1.3 crore, including rifles and pistols, in the city's Gun For Glory shooting academy helmed by Olympic medallist, Gagan Narang.
A gutted Narang spoke to ETV Bharat about the extent of damage the water caused. He said he had bought the rifles and pistols for the academy which was to begin functioning at the Gachibowli shooting range from November 1. The rifles and pistols were not used even once, he said.
"The equipment was brought from Germany two months ago for the academy at the Gachibowli Shooting Range and was never used. The academy was submerged in eight feet of water when I left home Tuesday night. No matter how hard I tried, the shutter did not open," Narang said.
"90 rifles and pistols worth about Rs 1.3 crore were submerged in water. We are drying them right now. I don't know how many of those will work, and how many are damaged. As we never expected such a disaster, we did not get insurance," the Olympic medallist rued.
The champion shooter, who took to mentoring a few years ago, said his dream to hone shooting champions from the state, was "washed away" by the rain.
"My dream of producing shooting champions from Telangana state has been washed away by the rain. I don't know what to do now. I had bought these pistols and rifles from Germany just two months ago," he said.