PTI,Weight of expectations makes shooters wary-Sep 29, 2010,

Weight of expectations makes shooters wary

Biju Babu Cyriac, TNN, Sep 29, 2010, 01.42am IST


Tags:sunny thomas|ronjan sodhi|national rifle association of india|gagan narang|cwg 2010 shooting|abhinav bindra
NEW DELHI: Five world record holders including two world champions and an Olympic gold medallist provide for a glittering line-up but the Indian shooting squad is increasingly getting wary of the weight of expectations.

With the shooters becoming the cynosure of all eyes (read mediapersons), the team management has stepped in and has issued a gag order. "Every one is asking about the number of medals we will win. It is true that we are entering with a very strong squad but the increasing expectations are slowly gripping the shooters. Some of them even told us about the uneasiness and that's why we have asked all shooters not to interact with media till their events are over," National coach Sunny Thomas told TOI.

Thomas said the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has similarly shielded the shooters from the media glare in the run-up to the Athens and Beijing Olympics. "In 2004, we travelled to Hungary and before the last Olympics we had moved to Malaysia. And both times the move worked as the shooters were able to concentrate," Thomas said.

Talking about India's prospects, Thomas said it will be difficult to maintain the steep hike in medal count from the Manchester Games. "We won 24 medals including 12 gold in 2002 and we increased it to 27 with 16 gold medals in 2006 which means almost half of the total medals on offer. But it will be difficult for us to improve upon that again. I'll be happy even if we are able to repeat that show. Any thing more will be a bonus," Thomas said.

Analysing the strength of the Indian squad, Thomas felt at least in some events it will be difficult for the rival nations to challenge the supremacy of Indian shooters.

"In men's 10m air rifle we are fielding Abhinav Bindra (Olympic champion) and Gagan Narang (world record holder) and in men's double trap we have Ronjan Sodhi (World Cup final champion) and Asher Noria (world junior men's champion)," the national coach said struggling to hide his excitement.

But Thomas was not ready to take India's rivals lightly. "Shooters from other countries have also shown marked improvement in the recent years and it won't be an easy outing," he said. The 32-member Indian shooting team will take part in all 19 events.