Nana Patekar is no more. He passed away this morning at the age of 75 in Goa. He is considered one of the actors of Hindi cinema who distinguished himself with his acting. However, few people know that, despite his brilliant performances, Nana Patekar was also a master shooter. He participated in state and national level shooting competitions. In addition, he also won a medal in the national championship.
Interestingly, Nana Patekar did not start shooting at a very young age, but in his 40s. In an interview with The Times of India in 2011, he explained that while serving as the chief guest at prize distribution ceremonies of shooting competitions, he often got the chance to shoot different types of guns. Gradually, their interest grew, and their aim improved.
Nana said he started targeting small targets like mineral water bottle caps. Around 2001, when he was 49 years old, he started participating in competitions. He competed in the 50-meter rifle prone and 300-meter big-bore events. He practiced extensively at various shooting ranges including Balewadi and Mahu in Pune.
Nana Patekar’s film Prahar was also an important link in his shooting career. He trained with the Indian Army for this film which was released in 1991. It is believed that the experience gained with the army proved to be very useful for him later in shooting. The result of Nana’s hard work was also seen at the national level. In 2004, he won a silver medal in the 300m big-bore event at the 48th National Shooting Championship held at the BSF Ryoti Range in Indore. Almost three years later, in 2007, he won a bronze medal with the Maharashtra team.