The intermittent sound of gunfire from the ranges was like music to the ears at the Karni Singh ranges on Wednesday. In less than 48 hours, 295 shooters from 53 countries will be ready to pull the trigger as the ISSF World Cup begins with a renewed hope, despite the Corona virus pandemic, sport can continue.
The Tokyo Olympics are a little over four months away. For the marksmen, this event is big. More so for the Indians, as they spent a lot of time confined to their homes last year because of the raging Novel Corona virus.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, National Rifle Association of India President Raninder Singh spoke of how minus shooting the athletes were “putting on weight at home.”
However, a senior shooter like Sanjeev Raput pointed out how the time under lockdown was a good time to introspect and also train hard on physical fitness.
Someone like Manu Bhaker, who will be possibly shooting six matches over the next 12 days (March 19 to 29) used lockdown to find inner peace and work on physical and mental strengthening. The second year student of LSR College knows the focus will be on her big time in coming days.
Speaking to this writer, the girl looked absolutely confident. She has seen highs and lows, already, in her fledging career. She looked in good shape. “I am looking forward to all my matches,” she said with a straight face.
NRAI President Raninder and his team have, indeed, worked hard to put on this show. He thanked the Indian government and the Sports Ministry and the SAI for all their support lent to Indian shooters. Even in these hard times, he has managed to bring sponsors on board for this event.
“We may win our 16th quota place as well here,” said Raninder. He was, however, not willing to talk about which particular event could be the one and which Indian seals it.
Asked about the quarantine procedure and how shooters from abroad were being dealt with, Raninder talked at length about the costs involved. “The NRAI is bearing the cost of shooters to be quarantined from abroad and this is as per the guidelines of the IOC and the ISSF. We have shooters from Britain and Brazil as well, countries where new and more potent virus strains have been found,” he said. “We want to make it easy for the athletes,” he said.
It was good to see the NRAI president and all the shooters wearing masks at the press conference. This has become like part of their shooting kit. “I have got used to the mask, sanitisation protocols and other related matters. It’s like this, we have to stay masked in a competition or training till the point we are at the firing point on our lane,” explained Manu.
When asked about vaccines for the Indian shooters, Raninder said he had not heard about it from any of the agencies. “It is a personal choice,” he said.
“I would be more than happy to take the shot,” said Manu when asked for her reaction.
Sanjeev Rajput said as a senior member in the team he had shared all his rich experience with the other team members. For many Indians, this will be their first Olympic appearance. They are aware the coming days will be crucial as performance in this World Cup could be the biggest determining factor for Tokyo Olympics team selection. The NRAI has a proper selection procedure in place but form and fluency in a big meet like this will matter.
The last-minute-touches were being given to the various ranges. Events in pistol, rifle and shotgun will be held. Public entry has been restricted. “We would have loved to get crowds in but are avoiding it on our own. Safety of my athletes is top priority,” stressed Raninder.
