AGE NO BAR: Sexagenarian Prakasho Tomar trains with youngsters at the Johri Rifle Club

You could say the villagers here look the bull in the eye. There was a time when Baghpat was notorious for its gun-toting dacoits. But the local people wanted a more honourable reputation for their district. And you can't say they haven't succeeded. You still hear the click of triggers being pulled and the loud retorts as the guns fire, particularly in Johri village. But the idea is not to frighten people into giving up their material wealth. Winning medals is.

In the past three years marksmen from Johri, 50 km from Delhi, have won medals in national and international shooting tournaments. Seema Tomar won a gold and a bronze at the 1999 Kathmandu South Asian Federation (SAF) Games. Zakir Khan and Shweta Choudhary won medals at the Meeting of Shooting Hopes contest held at Plzen in the Czech Republic. Vivek Singh-gold medal winner at the Asian, Commonwealth, SAF and National Games-even got the Arjuna Award in 1999.

The man behind the transformation of this tiny village is a native who works in Delhi as a physician. Rajpal Singh, 51, got hooked to shooting when he saw the sport at the 1982 Delhi Asiad. He was so captivated that he took up the sport, becoming proficient enough at it to win a few national medals. But it was Rajpal's decision to set up a 10-m shooting range at his village that put Johri on India's sports map. Started in the courtyard of a dilapidated haveli, the Johri Rifle Club failed to generate enthusiasm. "Initially, the villagers felt I was misleading their children who needed to work in the fields," says Rajpal. The club started with four trainees, most of them children of Rajpal's friends. The turnaround came when two elderly women became members. During her regular visits to the club-she escorted her granddaughter to the range every day-Prakasho Tomar, 68, developed a fascination for shooting. Encouraged by Rajpal and her own family, Tomar started practising seriously. Soon her sister-in-law Chandro, 65, joined in. Finding these grey-haired matrons training with air pistols, the villagers started sending their children to Rajpal's classes. Today, the club's membership has crossed 200-and Johri sends big contingents to the national championships.

All this when Rajpal's shooters train with antiquated weapons on a primitive, thatch-roofed range. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has provided air pistols to the club's two international medal winners-Seema and Zakir-but most members train with donated or loaned weapons. Rahul Gandhi, son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and once a Rajpal trainee, gifted an imported air pistol. So did Jayant Singh, son of Union Agriculture Minister Ajit Singh. Rajpal's son Vivek contributed Rs 50,000 of the Rs 1.5 lakh he got as the cash component of the Arjuna Award.

All these have helped. Following their good performances, a few of Rajpal's disciples now train on SAI scholarships; five are sponsored by organisations like Air-India and Indian Airlines. Shooting has even helped Rajpal's two sons find jobs with the Indian Airlines. Rajpal divides time between his work at Municipal Corporation of Delhi dispensaries and the shooting range in Johri. "I believe in lighting one candle with another. Now people I have trained are imparting training to others in Johri and other places," he says. For instance, Farooq Pathan, a former trainee, now coaches at Meerut University and Kuldeep Tomar is the official coach of Delhi University. Rajpal himself has trained the national shooting teams of Nepal and Mauritius. He also helped Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal set up a national shooting academy in Badal village in his state.

Fear of political and administrative interference has prevented Rajpal from approaching the Government for funds. "I will ask for the Government's help only after my trainees prove their mettle," he says. SAI has not responded to his request for the adoption and upgradation of the Johri Rifle Club. But even if the club fails to get recognition, Rajpal has the consolation of knowing that his aim to improve the fortunes of youngsters in Johri through his beloved sport has hit the bull's-eye.