For Kynan Chenai, shooting was never just a sport. It was a part of his childhood, his family and eventually, his identity. Born and raised in Hyderabad, Kynan was introduced to shooting by his father, former national champion Darius Chenai. What began naturally soon became a lifelong obsession.

In the latest episode of Reliance Foundation’s Safar Champions Ka, Kynan Chenai retraces the journey that took him from a childhood fascination with shooting to representing India at the Olympics, reflecting on his family’s legacy, the setbacks that shaped him and the relentless dedication that continues to drive him.

From school to college, shooting remained a constant in Kynan’s life. “All through the time, my school, my college, I was shooting,” he recalls, often taking time away from academics to compete. “Big tussle between studies and sports, but sports always won.” Even while studying at boarding school in Ooty and later pursuing Business Management and Sports Science in England, he continued to compete, often taking time away from academics for shooting. “Big tussle between studies and sports, but sports always won.”

His mother remembers a spirited child who was always on the move. “He was a very mischievous child. Crazy,” she says, recalling how Kynan loved climbing trees and playing with toy guns. That childhood fascination eventually found its way to the shooting range, where his father helped introduce him to the sport.

Darius remembers watching his son grow from a young shooter into an athlete capable of competing at the highest level. “I reached a point where I could only show him that much,” he says, after which Kynan began working with coaches and building his own path. Today, Kynan says his commitment comes from his “pure obsession with the game” and his “pure love for the sport.”

That obsession has taken him through the highs and lows of elite sport. He missed out on the London Olympics by one spot and the Tokyo Olympics by just one world-ranking point. Yet those setbacks only reinforced the reality of shooting: success is never guaranteed.
“At this kind of a sport, the highs are very high, but the lows… are abysmally low,” Kynan says. His philosophy is simple: “Learn from your failures and move forward.”

Behind that resilience is a support system that includes his family and his team. His wife speaks about the balance they bring to each other, saying she helps Kynan calm down while he helps her become more disciplined. His family, meanwhile, describes him as driven, focused and deeply committed to his craft.

Reliance Foundation has become another important part of that journey. Kynan says its support goes beyond financial assistance, giving him access to psychological help, physiotherapy, management and other resources required to perform as an elite athlete.

“It’s not just the money, it’s the belief,” he says. “If they believe in me, then I will work harder to prove that I am worthy of their belief.”
For Kynan, the journey is far from over. With the LA Games as his long-term target and the Asian Games ahead, his ambition remains clear.

“We go to the Asian Games to dominate.”

For a shooter carrying a family legacy, years of setbacks and an unwavering love for the sport, the target has always been more than what sits in front of him. It is about continuing to chase what once began as a childhood fascination,  and turning that legacy into his own