A Concord-Carlisle High School freshman is following his mother’s footsteps on the path to the Olympics.
Ammar Bagasra, son of Abbas and Nisreen Bagasra of Concord, has been competitively shooting since he was 13 years old. Jokingly, he attributes his success not to his hard work but to his shooting gene: Ammar first learned how to shoot PPP (a seated shooting position) when he was 8 under the guidance of his mother, Nisreen Bagasra, an international level athlete who participated at a World Cup in Munich.
At the age of 15 years, he ranks in the top seven junior athletes in the nation and is aspiring to be part of the USA Shooting Pistol Team.
His bag of accomplishments include medals at the Bay State Games, Junior Olympics, and Winter Airgun Competitions. At the Winter Airgun competitions, held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, he beat Olympians to earn overall Silver among 300 participants. Next, he will be competing in the Men’s Air Pistol event at 2023 USA Shooting National Pistol Championships, which will be held at Fort Moore starting June 8.. This is also a selection match for the Pan American Games.
Ammar was inspired to pursue the Olympic dream when he was invited to the Junior Olympics in 2021 and met several Olympians, including James Hall, Lexi Lagan, and Sandra Uptagraft at the event. In 2022, he won two bronze and one silver at the Junior Olympics, followed by a silver medal at the Winter Airgun in Dec 2022 (beating several Olympians) and a silver and bronze at the 2023 Junior Olympics. His performance has improved significantly and consistently; a remarkable achievement as a result of discipline, training, and a strong mental game.
Ammar trains five days a week in an air pistol range in the basement of his home. He also trains .22 caliber sports pistol with the junior team at Massachusetts Rifle Association. In addition, he works out at Team Works Sports Performance four days a week and maintains a healthy diet.
He is aspiring for a spot on the US Pistol team so that he can represent the U.S. at international events. Until he is part of the team, he is self-funded by his parents, who are first generation immigrants from Mumbai, India. The sport entails travel to competitions, equipment, coaching, and supplies.
When he is not training for the matches, Ammar is wrestling with his teammates at CCHS and focused on maintaining strong grades at school. He is seeking local sponsors to put on the shirt he wears at matches. Anyone interested in sponsoring or supporting Ammar, can contact him at abagasra14@gmail.com
