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New talent shine
Every Games arrives with its own share of hypes, expectations and misses, but if there is one sport which has always bailed us out in multi-sport events, it’s definitely shooting.
Indian shooters have rarely disappointed us and this Commonwealth Games has been no different. They have won nine medals so far including 3 golds (Abhinav Bindra in 10m Air Rifle, Rahi Sarnobot in Women’s 25m Pistol and Apurvi Chandela in Women’s 10m Air Rifle). What has been particularly impressive is the performance of the female shooters who have been dominating their respective fields.
While Apurvi beat compatriot Ayonika Paul, Rahi avenged her New Delhi Games loss to Anisha Sayeed four years back. Day 4 also saw Shreyasi Singh win silver in Double Trap. Not to forget that 16 year old Malaika Goel gave India the first shooting medal this year with a silver in 10m Air Pistol event.
The Legacy
While India has been competing and winning medals in international shooting events since the last forty years or so, it is only with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s silver in 2004 Athens Olympics that Shooting as a sport found recognition. Bindra of course made an even bigger contribution by winning India’s first individual gold four years later in 2008 London Olympics.
As far as women’s shooting is concerned, the biggest names in the last ten years have been Anjali Bhagwat and Tejaswini Sawant. Bhagwat, a former No 1 in 10m Air Rifle, was a finalist in 2000 Sydney Olympics- a first for Indian women’s shooting. She has also won about 12 gold medals in Commonwealth Games and is often known as the ‘Arjuna of India’. Sawant is of course the first Indian woman shooter to win gold at the World Championships in 50m Rifle Prone event and got selected ahead of Bhagwat and Suma Shrirur for CWG 2006.
The Old giving way to the new
Rahi Sarnobat emphasizes the difference that these achievements have made to training and funding, “The approach of India to shooting has changed - we have Olympic medals as well as Commonwealth medals. We train in better venues, (have) good coaches and I think that reflects in our shooting”
What is particularly heartening is the emergence of new faces like that of teenager Malaika Goel, the youngest member of the Indian contingent this year. Goel beat her own idol Heena Sidhu who finished a shocking seventh. Apparently, Goel keeps herself motivated by watching a documentary named ‘The Secret’ .
Shreyasi’s silver is also her first medal in the second attempt and she attributes it to her training stint in Italy and support from the likes of Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Mansher Singh.
Expectations for Rio Olympics
While Indian shooters are second to none when it comes to the reliability factor, it is to be seen if these CWG medals actually make an impact in Rio Olympics. In the past, the media hype hasn’t quite helped our sportspersons with the likes of Ronjan Sodhi and Heena Sidhu coming up short in London. However it won’t be much of a surprise if the likes of Sarnobot and Sayeed finish on the podium at Rio Games. The future of shooting is in safe hands.
