ARMED TO THE TEETH

[mundaire]

ARMED TO THE TEETH

Shivani Naik
Posted online: Sunday, August 05, 2007

The gun shots have been making all the right noises in the lead-up to the Beijing Olympics. It's the surrounding cacophony screaming 'medal' insistently, that needs to wait until the medal is actually gunned down. With a year to go for Beijing and an Asian Championship to avail of in order to bulge the tri-coloured participation at the next Olympics, India sit pretty with nine quotas already-one more than the shooters' total attendance at Athens.

Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's silver had the whole fraternity waking up to the possibility of the big medal from India's fastest-improving sporting discipline internationally. But 2004 was also a lesson in how not to jump the gun, or strain a shooter's nervous system.

"Last time, the hankering for a medal was so loud that the hype got to a shooter like Anjali Bhagwat. She was competing against Lioubov Galkina whose chances of winning the medal were 80-90 per cent. "Anjali was a serious contender as well, but seeing the fierce competition I'd have put her odds at 30 per cent," says veteran shooter Ashok Pandit. The disconnect between expectation and thread-bare analysis of comparative competition, later caused some heartache. Shooting is a mentally strenuous sport, and Pandit believes that the lead-up preparation to the big event should be near-robotic, with very few distractions.

"You should be cut off from the feverish invasion of both the media and government authorities beyond a point just before the Games," he says. Rathore almost benefited from being away from the prying eyes. Based on exceptional performances spread over the intervening years, shooters were straddled with presumptions of medals-not always taking into account their most recent run. "You should be shooting consistent scores regularly in training and abroad. It proves that you are technically and psychologically at par with the top guns. You can't land there and expect miracles-the good ones will definitely finish 2-3 points off the winner."

A definite pointer would be tallying the average of the run-up year's scores with last Olympic's medal score. But what has prompted the most cautious of voices to break into gleeful cheers is the confident charge of Indian shooters and the sheer number of contenders taking a shot at medals. "And there are more quota berths still to come. Some like Sanjeev Rajput surprised everyone with his impressive consistency," says Pandit, who earned the qualifying spot in 50 m free rifle 3-position.

The country's top shooters have overcome government delays in licenses and clearance, poor accommodation at SAI centres and worries over depleting ammunition before bringing home half the medal haul at last year's Commonwealth Games and almost a third of the booty from the Asian edition a few months later.

"Moreover, it's not one person doing it everywhere, but every competition's had a new hero," says Deepali Deshpande, who is gunning for yet another quota for the country in December. While Samresh Jung set the Commonwealth Games on fire and quickly snapped up India's first-ever Olympic quota in a pistol event, Jaspal Rana made a smashing return to the spotlight at Doha. Stringing together a good sponsorship package, Abhinav Bindra has kicked off preparations in methodical fashion -complete with an Australian personal trainer, while Rathore spars with reigning gold medalist Ahmed Al-Maktoum.

Giving themselves a massive launchpad while shooting good scores regularly, Indian shooters are making the most of the increased international exposure. "Hungarian coach Lazlo Scuzak's made a huge difference for rifle shooters," admits Deshpande, adding that a stabilised coaching arrangement will go a long way in boosting their confidence and aiding their mental preparation. "Since the last Olympics, Indians have started training like winners."

Athens was the first sniff at a win-Rathore's medal signaled a barrier being broken. "Rathore ensured that we learnt to win three years ago. That was very important-moving a notch up and believing we can fight for a medal. Now don't be surprised if a winner emerges out of nowhere," Deshpande-with more than 15 years experience, adds. So, even as sane voices demand perspective and caution while picking potential winners, shooting enters an unfamiliarly crowded zone of achievers-with a whiff of more than gun-powder in the air.with more than 15 years experience, adds. So, even as sane voices demand perspective and caution while picking potential winners, shooting enters an unfamiliarly crowded zone of achievers-with a whiff of more than gun-powder in the air.