ABOUT ME

My journey in shooting began in 1987 when I was 11. I was born in Almaty, which at the time was the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It was common for school kids to join various after-school activities like dancing, singing, sports, arts, and even astronomy, all of which were free along with education and healthcare. One day, a friend invited me to try shooting. I agreed, thinking I was already too old for gymnastics or ice skating, and assumed it was the same as archery since in Russian archery translates to “shooting with a bow.” I had no idea such a sport even existed. She took me to an underground, cellar-like range, and I was surprised to see a real pistol. I had dreamed of becoming a detective and believed detectives needed to know how to shoot, so the sport seemed useful. My biggest dream, though, was to travel the world, and shooting offered that opportunity. Over time, my detective dream faded, but my love for the sport endured, and I dedicated my life to it.

In 1991 USSR collapsed and Kazakhstan became a sovereign country. In 1993 I became a member of the National Shooting team. In Kazakhstan, Russia and many other countries, the sport was (and still is) a profession, and being an athlete was my job, for which I received a salary and all social benefits. And I did not forget to study. After grade 8 in 1991 I went to the Industrial college and after graduating with Honours started Kazakh State University of Foreign Languages in 1994. 1994 was a remarkable year for me, as I went to my very first international competitions. Actually 3 of them, one by one. They were World Cups in Cuba, the USA, and China. Later that year, the Kazakhstan team took part in its very first Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan. There, our women's pistol team won the bronze medal, which to me is the most memorable, as it was the very first international competition medal. In 1996, the Kazakhstan team took part in its very first Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA. At those Games, our shooting team won 2 silver and 1 bronze medal, so when we came back, we had a journalist coming to interview each member of the shooting team. It was a period in my life when I did not perform to the expected level. So, when he approached me, one of his questions was: “Well, Dina, when shall we see the results from YOU”? And I answered: “The results will come; I work hard towards achieving them, and everyone helps me on my way”. So, I had this absolute faith in what I was doing and the patience and knowledge that I just needed the time to grow as a strong athlete. And in 1998 I became a champion of the Asian Games, and in 2000 became a finalist of the Sydney Olympic Games.

In 2001 I finally married my coach, Anatoly Babushkin, we moved to Russia and changed citizenship. I became a member of the Russian National team, and he became a coach of the Russian National Rapid Fire pistol team. Later that year, our daughter was born. I resumed training when she was 6 months old. As a member of the Russian team, I got an opportunity to train along with some legends of our sport in both rifle and pistol, to learn a lot from them, to work with other coaches, and to see from the inside how the professional team works. Unfortunately, I failed to get selected for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, but those few years with the Russian shooting team gave me a great deal of experience and training.

In 2003, Anatoly got an offer to work in Australia as a National pistol coach, and we moved to Melbourne. Although in Australia sport is not a profession, I kept training full time as I still had this dream of winning an Olympic medal. I tried my best and, along the way, won several Commonwealth Games medals in 2006 and 2010, team World Championships medals, World Cup and Oceania medals, and many local ones.

In 2013, we moved to Singapore, where we both got coaching jobs. A new, absolutely different chapter of my life has begun. Since then, I could call my husband a colleague. Some achievements of my shooters were: 1st place at 2014 Commonwealth Games; Gold and Silver individual medals, and 2 Silver team medals at 2015 South-East Asian Games; 2 of my girls were finalists of Asian Championship, one girl won a 2016 Rio Olympic quota place in Sport Pistol; the same girl also won a bronze medal at 2016 Rio de Janeiro ISSF World Cup, and 2017 Delhi World Cup.

In 2016 we came back to Australia and moved to Gold Coast. I continued to coach others but had to use Skype (now Teams). So, to be able to explain to a person on the other side of the world what they need to do and how they need to feel, I decided that I needed to keep my shooting feelings "fresh" and resumed training. And once you feel that it works for you, you want to get better and better, and inspiration grows. It has never been my goal to get selected for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, but I just wanted to see how far I could go and enjoyed the journey. And I made it. While my individual performance wasn't great, in the mixed event with Daniel Repacholi we managed to finish in 8th place.

I participated in AOC's program "Olympics Unleashed" where I traveled around Queensland, visited primary schools, shared my story and tried to inspire kids to "unleash" their talents. I really hope that I manage to ignite some passion in them and a desire to develop their talents further. But what is remarkable for me is that I also get inspiration from them, from their genuinely interested eyes and curious questions.