The Hindu : Sport / Shooting : Team selection postponed

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Friday, Sep 22, 2006
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Team selection postponed

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The selection committee of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) could not conclude on the choice of shooters for the Asian Games in Doha and has opted to take an additional day to make the announcement.

``There are two events that are still being discussed. We want to be a little more careful in ensuring that we select the best possible team, keeping in mind the chances of medals,'' said the Secretary General of NRAI, Baljit Singh Sethi, after a three-hour meeting here on Thursday.

``Asian Games is a very big test for us. Every shooter is equal to us. We want to select those who have the maximum chance to win medals,'' said Sethi.

It was understood that rapid fire pistol and trap events were the ones giving a tough time for the selectors. The trap team had finished second in the recent World Championship and the rapid fire team had also shot much better than the general expectations. While it was the question of retaining the best who have fared consistently brilliant internationally in the trap event, it was a case of opting for a third shooter to form a team in rapid fire.

With one of the selection criteria being the sixth place of the last Asian Games, it was feared that Arti Singh and Shagun Choudhary, the women's skeet and trap shooters respectively, may miss the bus to Doha. Thus the squad is expected to have 25 men and nine women.

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