CHENNAI: Indian shooters will be the centre of attention in the coming days. With the Asian Shooting Championship (ASC) in Kazakhstan knocking on the door, the country's elite shooters will be hoping to maintain their good season so far. More importantly, the event could act as a springboard ahead of the World Championships, which is scheduled to be held in Cairo in November.
Currently fine-tuning their skills at the Dr Karni Shooting range in New Delhi, as many as 182 shooters from the country across rifle/pistol and shotgun categories (both Olympic and Non-Olympic events) are set to feature during the continental event. The Indians, who finished third during their most-recent assignment — the Munich World Cup in June — will be testing their skills against the cream of the sport in the continent. World Record holder Wang Zifei from China, who has had a season to remember so far, will be one of the top contenders.
Suruchi Singh, Saurabh Chaudhary, Manu Bhaker, Mehuli Ghosh, Sift Kaur Samra, Chain Singh are some of the top guns from the country who'll be part of the competition which is scheduled to be held from August 16 to 30.
"This is an important competition for us. We are looking forward to this. Things are looking good at the moment and this event will also act as a good preparation for the World Championships," Deepali Deshpande, national rifle head coach, assessed.
The shooters have been part of the preparatory camp in the national capital since the start of August. The shooters had mostly done the hard work last month. The Delhi camp was predominantly about polishing their skills. "We had a productive camp last month in Dehradun. The range is new there and the weather was also much better as compared to Delhi. The shooters got a good opportunity to train. There was no pressure as there was no competition nearby. We focussed on all fronts including sports science and also worked on technical training. It was a step-by-step process," Deepali, who is in charge of the shooters from the rifle category, said.
Reigning champion Akhil Sheoran, who will compete in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions, will be hoping to defend his crown while Sift will be aiming for the same, having captured silver in the last edition. The shooters will be leaving for the event in batches.
One shooter who has all the tools to deliver a gold medal is Suruchi, who competes in women's air pistol. With three back-to-back gold in World Cups, the 19-year-old from Haryana has been the stand-out so far this season. National pistol head coach Samaresh Jung is expecting her to go higher and higher. "She has been excellent. Let's see how she does again. The more events she participates in, the more confident she'll become. She has been following the training programme and doing what she needs to do," he said.
Paris Games double medallist Manu has not quite lived up to her usual tall standards this season but she is someone who just can't be overlooked. Jung is not too concerned about Manu, who will be hoping to build on her impressive haul of seven medals including two individual gold in the continental meet. "She is hardworking. She is always looking to do better. She'll be fine."
Speaking about doing better, fellow pistol shooter Saurabh, who had been in the shadows not so long back, has gradually been rediscovering his form and he'll be intent on leaving a good impression ahead of the Worlds. Jung is encouraged by his output in recent months. "He has been decent. He has had good scores and not so good scores. He's gradually getting back."
Moreover, the focus will also be on the potential stars of tomorrow as the junior category events will also be held simultaneously. It's also a chance for the likes of Deepali, a former junior national coach who has an eye for talent, to observe them. "It's a good opportunity for us to watch the junior shooters up close, see how they perform. It will be a good experience for them as well."
While rifle and pistol shooters have shared the bulk of the attention over the course of the season, the shotgun shooters have mostly been in the background. They'll be hoping to change that.
