Exclusive- Tilottama Sen on Asian Games Silver: “It’s a Personal Win for Me”

Not long after the Olympic trials, Tilottama Sen decided that maybe her run with the gun was up.

“I really felt like, you know, shooting is not my thing, maybe I’m not good enough, I shouldn’t continue the sport,” she says.

Days after returning from the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with a team silver, she reads the same year very differently. “It’s a personal win for me,” she says.

Tilottama Sen turned a low point into an Asian Games medal

The turning point was a move to 50m rifle 3 positions. “That’s when I started 50 meters, and in one year I’m the national champion, I have a medal,” she says. “So I think it gives me a lot of confidence that yes, I’m on the right path.”

Sen had already missed two big stages, the last Asian Games and the Olympics. Getting picked for Japan meant more than a place in the squad. “Getting that opportunity was a very big thing for me,” she says. “I’m glad that I could overcome what happened in the past, and I could go there and perform and give my best.”

She qualified third with 590 in the 3P qualification. The Indian team of Sen, Vidarsa Vinod and Ashi Chouksey then finished on 1,763, 10 points behind China’s 1,773, for the silver.

Fourth in the final: “I can’t really go and change anything”

Sen reached the eight-woman final and finished fourth, just outside the individual medals. She is honest about how that feels.

“The individual performance could have been better,” she says. “I could have played finals much better. Those shots could have been better.”

She says she does not dwell on it. “I’ve come to a realisation that I can’t really go and change anything. I’ll have to accept what happened. But definitely, this is just the beginning and there are many more to come in the coming years.”

Outdoor wind, match pressure and a debut on the 50m range

The Asian Games was only her third international 50m match, and the range in Japan was different from the indoor 10m halls where she built her career.

“I had to see where all the winds were,” she says. “Getting used to the wind and the match pressure took me some time to realise and decide how I want to play my qualification.”

She says she leaned on her last two World Cups. “All the learnings which I’ve had, I really wanted to put everything into the Games. The conditions and the range on the match day were tough, but I’m happy that I could overcome it and perform well.”

What India’s silver medallist learned from China’s shooters

Sen says she was not aware of the 10-point gap to China until her final was over. In qualification, she explains, shooters focus on their own match and do not know each other’s scores. “Everybody was focusing on their match, their performances.”

What she noticed most about the Chinese team was their calm. “No matter what the medal is, they really don’t have any reaction on their face,” she says. “Whether it’s a gold or silver, they don’t really show emotions. That’s something I do have, but I would love to improve that a little more. I really admire how the Chinese athletes are consistent throughout the years.”

Accommodation problems in Japan, and why she says they didn’t matter

The Games were not free of trouble. “Of course, there were issues with accommodation and travel,” Sen says. But she reached Japan more than a week before her event and had time to adjust. “I think it was all sorted by the time of my matches.”

She also has a view on the standard at home. “Everyone’s aware of how difficult the competition here in India is. In domestic competitions, the scores are pretty high. That opportunity in itself was a very big thing for me.”

What’s next for Tilottama Sen: nationals, quota events and LA 2028

There was no time for a celebration in Japan. The team flew home the day after competing, and a crowd was waiting at the airport. “I really didn’t get the time to celebrate the medal. Maybe back home,” she says. A family dinner is likely, and “maybe some party. It’s not decided yet.”

The calendar is already filling up. Nationals come first, then quota competitions next year, and the Los Angeles Olympics are two years away. She aims to be in both events. “I hope that at the coming games I will be representing both 10 and 50 meters,” she says. “I’ve got to work a little on my 10 meter as well.”

For a shooter who was unsure whether she belonged in the sport a year ago, that plan is a clear sign of the change.