FPJ Exclusive | Indian Trap Shooter Kynan Chenai Eyes Asian Games 2026 Glory, Opens Up On India's Shooting Strength

Indian trap shooter Kynan Chenai has spent more than two decades pursuing excellence in a sport where fractions of a second can make the difference. Introduced to shooting at the age of 10 by his father and two-time national champion Darius Chenai, the Hyderabad-born shooter went on to represent India at the 2016 Rio Olympics and win gold and bronze at the Asian Games.

Now 35 and preparing for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, Chenai, speaking exclusively with The Free Press Journal, opens up about his evolution as an athlete, the demands of trap shooting, handling pressure and why experience has taught him to remain firmly in the present.

Excerpts...

1. Can you tell us a little about your background and how shooting became a part of your life?

My background is that I was born and raised in Hyderabad, India and I'm 35 years old now. I started shooting when I was 10 years old so you can do the maths. It's quite a long time that I've been passionate for this sport and I've shot for many many years now and I'm very very obsessed with this sport and I love it. So the background to it is that my father got me into the game when I was very young. He's a two-time national champion, Darius Chenai. We are a Parsi family from Hyderabad and he got me into it when I was very young. Which boy kid doesn't like guns and you know at a young age gets very enamored by all of these things and then after that I just stuck with it and I thought that I was pretty good at it in my teen years and I kept trying to better myself and then slowly it became an obsession and now I can't do without the game. I just love it.

2. Since you grew up in Hyderabad, how did your environment and family shape your sporting ambitions?

See we have a range that we train out in Gachibowli which is run by the sports authority of Telangana. Thankfully they keep it up and they have it the facility good enough for us to train on. My family on the other hand is my main support. Without them there's no chance to be anywhere close to the elite level in sport. They pretty much support me from the very small things in life to the very big things whether it's money, whether it's you know taking care of the house while I'm away traveling and shooting and you know taking care of all the other parts of family. There's a lot that they do and which allows me to travel for my sports so that's I'm very very thankful for that.

3. When you look back at your journey so far, what stands out as the most defining phase of your career?

Well there are a bunch of defining phases of my career because I've shot for so long from in the junior division you win your international medals, you get a kick out of that. It's quite an achievement. Then once you become a senior then making the senior team is an achievement in itself after the age of 21. Then after that you want to win a medal internationally in the senior division. So once you do that then you look at the games like the Olympic games and the Asian games, so you know thankfully I've been given the opportunity and made the team for all the games that are available for us to shoot in the sport. So I've made it for the Commonwealth, Asian and Olympic games. I'd like to go again for the Olympic games if luck will have it. And it's I wouldn't pinpoint one thing that was a defining moment in my career but however the most enlightening experience I would say would be the Olympic games. Yeah Rio Olympics in 2016 that was something else man.

4. Whenever we hear “shooting”, people tend to think only about pistol and rifle. Trap is somewhat of a niche event and not many people know much about it. What do you think about that?

So you know our rifle & pistol team in India they are top notch. They are in my opinion best in the world. Nobody can beat them. They're too good. I don't know how they got so good but they're really really good. And the shotgun team is getting much better. We've had the best success overall as a team in the last couple of years since we've ever had in all these years that I've been shooting apart from when there was Mr. Manavjit Singh Sandhu who became the world champion. There's been Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Mansher Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Ronjan Sodhi. These guys have you know really done the hard yards and won the big medals in shotgun. But now we've got a young generation like younger than me also and they're really you know pushing the international level and they're really working hard in India. So I feel like not only trap shooting but skeet shooting also will be coming up as a big contender for medals internationally. So don't count us out. We might be the underdog but I have a feeling the underdogs got something to say.

5. How important are your stance and grip in maintaining consistency and accuracy during a competition?

So in trap shooting we have to shoot a target that travels out of a machine at 100 kilometers an hour and we have 0.3 of a second to break the target otherwise it's out of range for our guns. So we use a 12 gauge shotgun and we are susceptible to weather conditions, wind, rain, light, sunlight. Sunlight is a big thing. So and the target is orange. We are susceptible to the background of the ranges that we shoot on. So it's overall difficult. The whole setup of the ranges has to be correct and you have to have some sort of preparation in terms of your fitness. Your body has to be in shape to react to the target at that speed. You don't know where the target is going in trap. In skeet you know where the target is going. However, you change the positions in skeet. So every game has its challenges. However, if you're in my opinion, if you're not strong enough either the weather will throw you off or something will throw you off in this game. So you have to be tuned up and ready for it.

6. How important is it to keep external factors such as wind and weather conditions in mind while training for a competition?

So when you don't have the controllable, you have to train for all outcomes. So whether it's raining outside, whether it's sunny, whether it's windy, you go and train. You don't sit at home and say, no, I don't want to do it. So you just have to get up, go outside, get wet in the rain, you know, whatever the weather conditions. We train in the peak of summer also in India. So that's challenging. Now in Delhi, it's very humid. So we train this weather, we have selection trials in a matter of few days. So it's unforgiving. You have to be ready for everything. And as I said, if you're not mentally ready to suffer a little bit, it's going to catch you.

7. And personally, what do you prefer? Like the sunny environment, rainy, windy, what conditions you like to play?

I think over the years, I've preferred to shoot in sunny conditions. But my mindset towards the whole thing actually is whatever, just bring it on. It doesn't matter the day, it doesn't matter the time I have to do my process and follow my system.

8. Trap shooting demands incredible hand-eye coordination. How do you maintain that level of concentration for every shot?

So we have our processes in place that we use in order for our reflexes to be in tune when we're shooting. However, we train certain things like our eyes, we train our eye muscles, we train our reflexes with, you know, all those different flashing lights and all sorts of things. Our team is great. Our physios, physiologists, our strength and conditioning, our psychologists, they're all brilliant. They all are given to us by the National Rifle Association of India. So as part of the team, we get this help and, you know, they really push us outside the shooting range. And, you know, they say that, you know, you need to do this, this exercise for your eyes, you need to do this exercise for your dexterity, you have to do certain things for your hand-eye coordination, you know, they make us catch balls in different sort of angles and it's all very scientific for them. So we just follow what they say. Recently in our shooting careers, at least in my shooting career recently, it's become very follow the leader type of thing. So it's a lot less thinking for us athletes, we just do the work, which is great.

9. Do you have a pre-shot routine that helps you switch off everything around you and focus only on the target?

So we shoot 125 targets in a qualification match over two days. So we have to shoot 75, sleep on it and then shoot 50 the next day. So each shot has the same routine, the same timing, we get 12 seconds to break the target, to pick up the gun, mount the gun, then break the target. We get 12 seconds each time. That's a rule in the International Shooting Federation. So we develop routines according to that. And we have to execute every time under 12 seconds. So we have our own breathing routines. Everybody has a different style personally. They tweak it according to themselves. So I have my little tricks here and there that I keep trying. So sometimes they stick, sometimes they don't, depends on the mental mindset of what I'm thinking and how queued on I am in those times.

10. Can you walk us through your usual training routine and what sort of diet plan you tend to follow?

My training is pretty much on the range, three, four hours a day and in the gym about two hours a day. I do intense stretching. And that's about it. It's not very complicated. But when I'm on the range, I train seriously. I train for three, four hours very seriously. I shoot targets, I work on my technique. Then once I'm off the range, I switch off the shooting part of it, I work on my body. Strength is a big thing. I like to be strong, little big. It helps me take the recoil of the shotgun. And my diet plan is pretty much very simple. I went to boarding school when I was young. So I went to boarding school in Ooty, down in South India. It's over there where I learned to eat the same thing. Because on Monday, we get the same thing. Tuesday, we get the same thing. And every week is the same, same, same. So I pretty much eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, the same thing when I'm training. Through the week, I get one day a week a cheat meal on Sunday. And that's pretty much it. I tend to keep it light, I tend to eat, my body doesn't metabolize carbohydrates so well. So I tend to keep the carbs on the low. But you know, the usual egg whites, chicken and veggies is how I eat pretty much throughout the week.

11. Do you allow yourself cheat meals and enjoy your favourite foods?

Usually it's on a Sunday, unless I'm competing. I'll allow myself a cheat meal. And it sometimes works out well when the cheat meal, you know, clicks in. Because I'm from Hyderabadi. I love biryani. So throw in a little bit ofCchicken 65 and a biryani on a Sunday with lunchtime. And I'm a happy boy.

12. I do believe this concept that shooting requires both physical and mental toughness. Do you practise meditation, breathing exercises or any form of mindfulness to improve your concentration?

So there are certain exercises they make us do for the mind. But I don't per se do any sort of meditation right now. I have done in the past. And I think that, honestly, the actual training is the meditation. That is the time the focus is built. Also, another part of your question, which you said about shooting is a very mental game and mental toughness. I personally believe mental toughness is built through experience. Experience of what you go through in the sport, when you're in those how many times you're in those crunch moments, you know, and then you come in the crunch moment again, you it's a familiar feeling you'd be like, yeah, I've been here before I know what to do. So the coach right now, Peter, our national coach Peter Wilson, he tries to replicate a lot of it in our in our training. However, I don't think there's anything like the real thing that makes you know, learn. So I think mental toughness and grit is built through experience.

13. Trap shooting is such a fast-paced event that if you miss a shot, you don't have a breather to reflect because the very next second you have to take another shot. So, how do you reset and regroup quickly and be ready for action?

I always joke and say that trap shooters have a short memory. So you just have to have a short term memory loss. Forget it. It's gone. What's gone is gone. You got to be very good at coming back into the present. You got toto stay in the present. It's easily said, but very, very tough to do.

14. What goes through your mind before taking a penultimate shot? Do you get nervous or have butterflies in your stomach?

Well, you know, in those moments, you don't feel it too much. Because you trick your mind into just being focused on what you're doing. Your process, your execution, your idea of breaking the target, then after when you're looking back at it, all those feelings come back. And all those Oh, my God, I felt like that. Oh, my God, I feel it. But during it, to be honest, you don't feel too much. At least I don't feel too much.

15. A lot of times, we see players competing incredibly well in trials, national and international competitions, but when it comes to the Olympics or Asian Games, they struggle to convert those performances into a medal. Why do you think that happens?

See, I don't think if you look at just the games, they come once every four years. Our shooters are performing year in, year out, month in, month out. All of them, they're winning medals. So now, come the Olympic Games, come the Asian Games, there are a lot of aspects that have to click in place for one athlete to win that medal. So it's just a difficult game. That's it. They are the best in the world. Our team is the best in the world. But it's just the fact that if it's your day, your time, and it's written in the stars, it will be done. And it's just a difficult game. That's all.

16. How is the experience of representing India and competing in the Olympics?

It's surreal. When you wear that flag on your chest, you dream of it, you look at it multiple times, you know, you're staring at your chest multiple times being like, wow, wow, wow. And then once you do it, you just want to make your country proud. That's it. You want to make your family proud. You want to make your team proud. That's about it. You have to take it in the positive. It's too good. Each game has its own kit, so when you put that kit on, for the first time, when you're traveling out for the games, it's a surreal feeling. It's not just the Olympics, it's not just the Asian, it's not just the Commonwealth, it's every games. When you get your kit at the start of the year, when you make the national team in India, that every year is the same, you know, intense feeling. So it's brilliant to have the flag over your chest and just keep trying to be the best version of yourself, to make your country proud.

17. What is the biggest difference between the Kynan who competed at the Olympics and the Kynan preparing for the 2026 Asian Games?

Oh, much, much older, a little bit wiser. You know, when you're young, you're full of that aggression and that energy to, you know, kill everybody. But now it's very much more calm. It's much more settled. I feel like a very, very different person from that time.

18. Before the start of any tournament, you tend to work with your coaches, physio, nutritionist and so on. But when the tournament starts, it's just you and your shotgun. Can you describe that feeling?

That feeling is brilliant, I love this game. So what does that mean? I love my shotgun. I'd rather be nowhere else. I'd rather do nothing else. And to compete with something that you love is a dream job. It's a dream, dream thing to do. So, I don't really think about it so much. It's just me, myself and I with my gun on the shooting range. It's the best feeling in the world.

19. You already have an Asian Games gold and bronze medal to your name. So do you feel any extra pressure of replicating the same feat this edition?

Look, the past is the past. I did well over there. I did well. I know I did well. That was a great feeling, you know, to stand on the podium and see your national anthem being sung. It was great. It was super. The past, what, three, four years after that, lots has happened. Life goes on. And I'd like to be in the present, coming for the Asian Games in Japan, because there's a lot of new experiences, a lot of new things coming your way. So I'd like to take everything in and, you know, experience it for what it is and be in the present. What happened in the past just stays in the past, man. I don't think that makes any difference.

20. What are your personal expectations from the Asian Games now?

Well, I expect myself to follow exactly what I've been doing in training, follow my processes, listen to my coaches, keep my body fresh and ready for the tournament and just attack it one step at a time. That's all I'm focusing on.

21. And any final message for the Indian fans who would be cheering you on for the Asian Games?

Oh, thank you so much for your support in advance. I hope you enjoy the games. I hope that you guys tune in, watch the games and watch the sport. We'll be grateful for that. We'll try to do our best.

Published on: Friday, August 21, 2026, 02:15 PM IST