'I think perfection doesn't exist, but I'm looking for it': Kynan Chenai's unfinished Olympic race

“Creeps!”That’s the first word Kynan Chenai uses when asked what comes to mind when he thinks back to the Asian Games mixed team trap final. He and Neeru Dhanda won gold for India, but Chenai says there was little room to think about a medal while shooting.His attention was focused on the target, the gun holder, and the moment he needed to pull the trigger. “In that moment, nothing else mattered. It didn’t matter if someone missed the target or if someone else broke theirs. All that mattered was that he hit my target.” The emotion came later. “So as I sit here with you and think about it, the only word that comes to mind is goosebumps.Chenai finished 16th in the singles qualifiers. In the mixed team held a day later, he teamed up with Neeru Dhanda to qualify for the final and then shot 19 out of 20 in the final. The change in performance was not lost on him.“At the Asian Games, I’m happy that my experience and ability allowed me to switch between individual and mixed team competition,” he says. “After an individual event just a day before, I was able to come back and get my energy back.”“I’m glad I was able to flip that switch. But it depends on my experience and ability to grit my teeth and work my way through difficult situations.”

India’s gold medalist Neeru Dhanda (left) and Kynan Chenai pose for photographers during the medal ceremony after the mixed team shooting at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)

The final also required Chenai to work alongside Dhanda, who was coming off a tough Asian Games campaign and was exhausted after filming in the rain. He says the two of them had their own routines and that he trusted her to know what she was doing.He told her he would help her if she needed anything; otherwise, they would focus on their goals and then evaluate the outcome. Dhanda told him at one point, “My battery is dead.” Chenai’s response was characteristically terse, “Then go and beat it!” He laughs at their banter and says he’s impressed by how she found the energy to carry on.“In the end, I was very impressed with how she was able to muster up the energy and kind of keep everything together. I’m glad I did it and it worked out very well for the country.”

India’s Neeru Dhanda, left, and Kynan Chenai celebrate after winning the gold medal (Photo: Atul Yadav)

Behind the gold is a 38-year-old barrel

There was one more detail behind the performance: the barrel on his gun belonged to his father, Darius Chenai, a former national trap champion who introduced Kynan to the sport when he was 10. The barrel was 38 years old.Chenai used a high-rib barrel for four or five years, but it did not achieve the desired consistency. The decision to change it came after discussions with his team. His Perazzi pistol allows different components to be mounted on the same action, so he could use an additional barrel without changing the entire gun. He had no ordinary cask at home; his father’s gun was the only one available.“I asked him and he said, ‘Yeah, take it, use it.’ He wasn’t using it at the time.”The older barrel performed well enough to be part of the gold medal performance at the Asian Games.His father has since teased him about how many grenades he was putting in and warned him to be careful with something that old. “But at the end of the day, it’s all fun and jokes with him. He’s pretty proud that I’ve been able to use something of his and have some success with it.”

The first person to teach him how to shoot

Kynan with father Darius (Photo from Instagram)

Darius was also the person who first took Chenai to the shooting range and put a gun in his hands. The two-time national champion in trap shooting taught his son the basics of shooting and, what is no less important, the safe handling of a weapon.Chenai says his father explained that the gun needed to be respected, cleaned and properly stored. Some of the techniques he learned then remain a part of his shooting to this day.“I’ve had many different role models throughout my career. I could give you a list of names, but Dad is one of them. He’s the first, the OG.”He also names Manjir Singh, Manojit Singh Sandhu and Ranjan Sodhi as influences. Lately, David Kostelecki, his coach and two-time Olympic medalist, has become an important source of advice. “I tried to learn from him how to win an Olympic medal. I’m still picking his brain.”Chenai grew up in Hyderabad and spent 10 years at Hebron School in Ooty. He describes himself as a child who is more interested in sports than studies and likes to be involved in everything that happens around him.Prithviraj Tondaiman, India’s outstanding trap shooter who competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics and was part of the Indian men’s trap team that won the gold medal at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, was a young shooter at the range when Chenai was growing up. Tondaiman often told him that he wanted to do everything: put the microphone on the range, load the clay targets into the machine, check that it worked, fire, and then collect the empty cartridges.“I was one of those kids who wanted to be involved in everything,” says Chenai. “I was into hockey, swimming, shooting and soccer. I loved everything.” In the end, he had to settle for one sport. “But eventually, as life goes on, you realize you don’t have enough time to do everything. You have to choose one thing, and I’m glad I chose this one.”

Kynan Chenai with Manvjit Singh Sandhu and Prithviraj Tondaiman (Instagram photo)

Rio, the missed Olympics and the trip to LA

The Olympics became the main goal in my twenties. Chenai was 25 when he made his Rio 2016 debut, but now looks back on his version as a shooter who wanted to get to the Games without fully understanding what it meant to win a medal there.“At 20 years old, the only goal was to get to the Olympics. That was the main thing I wanted to achieve. But I didn’t know how to win an Olympic medal. I was a kid running on scraps. I just shot what I could, relying on pure grit and, as they say, sheer luck.”Rio gave him the experience of competing in the Olympics and, he says, a clearer idea of what he needs to do differently next time. Chenai finished 19th in the men’s trap qualifier with a score of 114. “It was a great experience for me because I learned what to do and what not to do for the next Olympics. It was that simple.”He missed Tokyo and then Paris, both disappointments for the shooter who still wants another Olympic opportunity. But Chenai says he’s learned to move on rather than let the absence consume the next phase of his career.“I still have the goal of going to the Olympics. Yes, like you said, I missed the last two, which was disappointing, but it wasn’t overwhelming. I’ve been to the Rio Olympics before.”However, the disappointment doesn’t go away even during the games. He watches other athletes compete and thinks about being there himself.“When Olympic fever is at its peak, you watch the games on TV and you see people doing great things. You want to be a part of it too, don’t you? It hurts when you’re not there.” His own measure of time is the closing ceremony. “But after the closing ceremony you go on and on.

Kynan at the Rio Olympics (Instagram photo)

Getting to Los Angeles, one competition at a time

Los Angeles 2028 is the next Olympic goal, but Chenai doesn’t want to plan every move two years in advance. He also wants to win another world championship medal and says his focus has shifted to the competition immediately ahead.Asked as he approaches the final stretch to LA, he says without putting it on: “There’s no thinking behind it. It’s just about winning.” The first task is to get the quota place for India. He says this can be done at the World Cup, World Cup or Asian Championship, after which the athlete has to qualify through trials in India as per the federation’s selection policy.“We can’t go without a quota place. So I go back to what I told you before: give 100 percent in one competition and see what happens. Then we’ll move on to the next one.”For Chenai, preparation means knowing when not to shoot. He says athletes can become mentally exhausted if they train hard leading up to competition. A gunner might deploy 200 shells a day for 10 days, only to arrive at the event tired of repeating the same routine.“You’re going to make a mistake, almost certainly, because you’ve been training with 200 shells a day for the last 10 days. You come back the next day and your mind goes, ‘Oh man, do we have to do it again?’His team follows a gradual taper to ensure he is mentally fresh when it counts. The rest of life must also be under control.

Kynan on the 2026 Asian Games podium (Photo from Instagram)

“You also work very hard to make sure that everything in your life settles down around the time of your competition. After the competition, things can get hectic again. But during this period, your life has to be very calm. There should be no drama, nothing.” He describes it as work that takes place off the trigger.

Balancing life outside the range

He also had to make room for life outside the shooting range. Chenai got married seven months before and his business is also taking up time.“I’m 35 now, so, as my family says, it’s about time!” he says. “Shooting is my only love, of course, it takes a lot of time and effort.“However, between my twenties and thirties, life changed. I have to make time for other things in life. I have to make time for my family, my business and everything outside of filming.”

Kynan is married to Ria Rajeshwari Kumari, India’s Olympian trapeze and 2022 Asian Games silver medalist (Instagram photo)

He says the balance has changed his appreciation for the hours he gets at the range: “When I’m at the range, my appreciation for the game is greater because I love it so much and appreciate the time I have to do what I need to do.”Chenai has been part of Indian shooting long enough to see changes in the support available to athletes. He credits National Rifle Association of India President Raninder Singh with helping to put systems in place for shooters to train at the NCOE, receive support from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme and have regular access to ammunition.“He established standard operating procedures that allow athletes to be part of NCOE and TOPS, receive ammunition and practice their targets every day. Not every month, but every day.” In his opinion, being able to train consistently around 250 days a year helps shooters develop the muscle memory needed for international competition.He says India’s shotgun shooters have made progress while rifle and pistol shooters have remained able to compete with the best despite the disappointment of the Asian Games. “Okay, they haven’t had a good Asian Games. So what? They’re still the best in the world in my opinion. Indian rifle and pistol shooters are among the best. Shotgun is coming and you’ve seen it here.”

Raninder Singh, former president of NRAI (Photo from agencies)

He is also quick to point out that each discipline brings different demands. Shotgun takes place outdoors where rain and sun can affect the competition; indoor shooters deal with conditions like temperature and lighting. “I don’t know all the logistics involved, but I can tell you that every sport has its own difficulties and we are real rivals at world level.”

Perfection is still being sought

Chenai does not claim to have solved everything. He says the years since Hangzhou have made him more mature in how he reacts to competition and that handling pressure remains a learning process.“I’m not saying I’m perfect or that I’ve got it all figured out, because that’s not possible. Nobody does. I always say it: I don’t think perfection exists, but I’m looking for it.”When asked what success means to him now, he doesn’t reduce it to medals or Olympic appearances. “It’s about being the best version of myself, yes. And I can also tell you that if I’m consistent, I’m successful.”