Shooters off-Target in Guangzhou

VINEET TRIPATHI
Last updated on November 28, 2010 20:00IST

The disappointing show by the Indian shooters at the recently concluded Asian games in Guangzhou has left every ardent Indian supporter shell-shocked. The Indian Shooting Federation is busy finding reasons for the poor showing in an event in which we are supposed to be a force to reckon with on the world stage.
As it usually happens, somebody had to take the responsibility. The chief coach of the Shooting Federation, Sunny Thomas, who had been the chief coach for the past seventeen years, took the moral responsibility and resigned. But the reasons he gave for the below par performances of the shooters did not amuse many. According to him, the Indians were not used to the windy conditions prevalent in the shooting range. Another reason for shooters not performing up to the mark was that they were using new rifles. So they lacked practice before a big tournament with their weapons.
But to find the precise reasons we have to analyze the situation. After the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in which India topped the tally in shooting with 14 gold medals, what went so seriously wrong with Indian shooters? This may be a baffling question for many. But to those who had kept an eye on Indian shooters, their performances and problems for the last few years, this would not be a surprise for them.
When Abhinav Bindra won a gold medal in the Beijing Olympics, he had accused the Indian Shooting Federation of nepotism and corruption. He also brought to light the problems the shooters are facing. They are short of practice as they do not get bullets on time. Only those shooters who can afford it on their own make it big. But many people did not pay heed to him that time.
  Then came the Commonwealth Games in which India won 14 gold medals.
The nation was full of praise and accolades for our shooters. But only few cared to know that the Commonwealth Games standards were far lower than those at Asian Games. So, realistically speaking, no pundit would have hoped for a repeat of Commonwealth Games. But what disappointed was the failure of our top shooters like Abhinav Bindra,

catching the bird's eye- Sodhi

Gagan Narang etal. to win the yellow metal.Their performances indicated that they lacked practice after the Commonwealth games. Their scores at the games were far less what they were usually scoring at the practice sessions. This put fore the need for a psychologist as pointed out by Bindra. Only Ronjan Sodhi provided the yellow spark in the eyes of the Indian contingent. But even his performance was below his personal best and also below the level he shot to get a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games.

 The Shooting Federation of India didn’t pay attention either to the shooters after the Commonwealth Games. It was busy in taking pride for achieving the most successful medal haul,forgetting that a bigger challenge lay ahead. The federation is full of corrupt politicians with Digvijai Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, as its head. Most of the federation members know very little about the sport and its requirement. So they contribute very little in the growth of the game. Shooting being an expensive game requires government support which is lacking. Foreign coaches are needed. Efforts should be made to provide proper exposure to the shooters on the world arena. This will instill self-belief and the shooters will not be over-awed by the big stage.