Tara Shahdeo fixes her target amid tight security during practice at Tikait Umrao Shooting Range in Hotwar, Ranchi, on Friday. Picture by Prashant Mitra

The fatigue of her marital ordeal was clearly visible on her face, dark circles around the eyes belying her age.

But, for 23-year-old markswoman Tara Shahdeo, who last month dared to expose husband Ranjit Singh Kohli’s hidden identity and ugly attempts at forceful conversion, it was Renaissance Friday as she returned to what was always her true calling — the bullseye.

“It feels so good to be back where I belong,” Tara smiled easily, perhaps after a long time, as she put on her shooting jacket. She wasn’t nervous at all even though flashbulbs kept clicking at lightning speed. The developments over the past fortnight — giving bytes to television channels, attending police interrogations and interacting with top politicians — had made her stronger and confident, she said.

“I don’t know how it feels winning an Olympic medal. I never had the chance to win one. But today, what I feel is no less than that glory,” said the gutsy shooter whose greatest achievement in her decade-old career is participation at the 34th National Games held in Hotwar, Ranchi, in 2011.

Coincidentally, Tara had made her shooting debut on this very day in 2004.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to return to the game post-marriage. I need not reiterate the traumatic experiences I underwent. Today, September 5, I feel reborn. I am happy to be training once again,” she said, thanking the media profusely for taking up her cause.

Around 12.30pm on Friday, Tara reached the Tikait Umrao Shooting Range at Jaipal Singh Munda Mega Sports Complex in Hotwar along with her budding marksman brother Dwed Nath Shahdeo, their entourage also comprising relatives and well-wishers in half a dozen cars.

On Day One of practice, she is believed to have spent over four hours at the range, the first couple of them interacting with the media. Stadium sources said during shooting practice, she was unable to stand for long duration because of her spine injury.

“It will take me some time to regain my composure; the unbearable back pain is a deterrent. However, I am aiming selection for the upcoming interstate regional meet scheduled in the capital from September 18,” she said, acknowledging the efforts of Jharkhand State Rifle Association to postpone the event, which was earlier scheduled in the first week of the month, for her sake.

On Thursday, Tara had met state HRD and sports minister Geetashree Oraon. Was she seeking a job?

“Not precisely. There were various issues. Geetashreeji asked me what did I want? I said, ‘more than a job, I needed support to stay in the game’. If at all the government wants to give me a job, it can offer me the post of a coach here. That way I can train budding talents and myself at the same time,” she said.