Things looking up for Indian shooting

THEY WON medals by the dozen, including 13 gold, but the Indian shooters have not been overwhelmed by the favourable flow. There is a distinct feeling, not just among the coaches but the shooters as well, that the scores need to improve.

It is, however, a fact that Australia and England cornered more medals than India, though less gold, which should prove that it has not exactly been a picnic for the Indian contingent in the fourth Commonwealth Shooting Championship held in Bisley recently.

While India ended up with its best ever tally of 13 gold, six silver and eight bronze for a total of 27; Australia had 11 gold, 14 silver and 11 bronze to take the second position with 36 medals.

Host England followed third with seven gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze medals for a collection of 29 medals. Scotland, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, Cyprus, Wales, South Africa, Isle of Man and Sri Lanka accounted for 27 other medals including nine gold, proving the spread of talent in the region.

It may be noted that in the last edition in Auckland in 1999, Australia had topped with 18 gold, 11 silver and 13 bronze medals for a whopping total of 42, mainly because of the running target events, which were not part of the programme this time. India had won 10 gold, eight silver and seven bronze then. England and New Zealand had 21 and 28 medals respectively, with 10 gold for the former and six for the latter.

``We have won medals in almost every event. The scores, however, are less than what our shooters are capable of. They are a dedicated and talented bunch. If they get suitable facilities and ammunition to train, they will win the medals in the Commonwealth Games, where the field will be bigger and stronger'', said Tibor Gonczol, the Hungarian coach of the Indian team from Australia.

The chief coach of the Indian team, Prof. Sunny Thomas echoed the sentiments, and stated that the medals would make everyone happy, but he would have been happier with better scores. Especially so, after the heavy load of training that was given during the Bangalore preparatory camp.

If you collect 85 medals including 35 gold from a competition in four editions, the medals may look to be easy-picking, but there is no doubt that the Indian shooters have been improving themselves, to match world standards over the years. The Commonwealth Championship has been the confidence-boosting ground for bigger achievements.

The general lack of sheen in the medals notwithstanding, there have been some world class performances from the Indian camp, that point to better prospects in future. Abhinav Bindra and Anjali Vedpathak delivered the medals, with a high-quality fare, asserting their higher standard beyond doubt.

The fact that Mansher Singh has rediscovered his original form with the trap gold, beating the Olympic silver medallist Ian Peel at his backyard, should be a great source of inspiration for the shotgun shooters. Harinder Singh Bedi winning the golden badge with a 99 out of 100, though the Indian team missed the medal after being tied, was indeed difficult to digest for coach Marcello Dradi.

``The shotgun shooters have done very well. We are seeing the Mansher of 1995 once again, though we can't ask him to shoot the same scores, because the speed of the birds have increased. I can say with confidence that there will be four shotgun shooters, including one from double trap who will win quota places for the Olympics in Athens'', said Dradi, who reassured that he would continue to train the Indian team despite the financial problems, for he would not like to run away from the challenge.

Samaresh Jung caught the eye with his spectacular shooting in the air pistol final, after a modest 578 in the preliminary phase. He could have got the 50-metre free pistol gold as well, but for a poor last shot.

``In the air pistol final, Samaresh shot brilliant. That performance could find a place even in the Olympics. It was a classy effort'', said Gonczol, not quite known for liberal compliments.

Shilpi Singh's was another fine effort in the women's air pistol event, when she followed a 380 with a decent final to deny the silver to the Olympic bronze medallist, Annemarie Forder of Australia.

``I could have won the gold'', said Shilpi, quite clearly reflecting the urge in the Indian camp to look for bigger things, rather than be satisfied with what has been achieved.

Jaspal Rana shot below his best most of the time, but landed the medals as usual, with a 571 in standard pistol team event, proving his class. It is another matter that he had to really snatch the gold from the hands Linda Ryan of Australia, the woman who stole the show in some events, in the standard pistol open event.

If Jaspal Rana has to fight a woman to assert his class, one can imagine the plight of the less-resourceful shooters. The missed medals tell their own stories of the standard of the Commonwealth Championship, something that all the medals won may not be able to convey.

A string of fresh participants, new to the international arena, have done well to make a good beginning. Poonam Kumar, Mukesh Kumar, Satguru Das, Ronak Pandit, Naresh Kumar along with Meena Kumari, Raj Kumari and Saroja Kumari have made their first steps with different degrees of assurance.

The Indian team is set to reassemble by the end of September for a short preparatory stint for the SAF Games. With a short field, the Afro- Asian Games will not be much of a chance for the Indian shooters, who will have a string of important competitions next year in the form of the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Games, the Asian Championship, the four World Cups and the World Championship.

``We need to start preparing hard now. If we start next year, it may be too late to get the quota places for the Olympics. We like to believe that the attitude of the authorities towards the sport would change in the near future. The Indian shooters need to be backed to excel in the international arena, for there is no doubt about their potential, and any investment would be worth it'', said Gonczol.

Those who are beaten, have not liked it one bit. There is no room for complacency, for, if you stand still, you are only going backwards. The medals may not take you forward, only better scores can. The shooters understand it well, and that is why they are not overjoyed even with 27 medals. If some managed to shoot world class scores, it was with higher quality ammunition bought with their own money.To that extent, the medals have been well and truly earned.

KAMAESH SRINIVASAN

New Delhi

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