The Hindu : Sport : Indian shooters ready to fire

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Monday, Oct 13, 2008
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Indian shooters ready to fire

V.V. Subrahmanyam

PUNE: The Indian shooters, who are expected to dominate the Commonwealth Youth Games, were assured of a medal even before they took aim as there were only two entries in the free pistol event — Ankush Bharadwaj of India and Murray Middleton of Falkland Islands.

The 18-year-old student from Delhi’s Hansraj College was not too enthusiastic about this fact and kept reminding that he had come to the Games after a strenuous training programme. “I hope to give my best and pick the gold,” said Ankush.

Determined

The shooter, who bagged two bronze medals in the Hungarian Open early this year, is keen to use the Youth Games as a platform for greater deeds. Ankush, who hails from Chudiyal village of Ambala, is determined to finish with a gold. “I enjoyed training here and should be on target,” he said.

Chief National coach Sunny Thomas, when asked to name a shooter who has a bright future, picked Ankush without hesitation.

The confidence level is quite high in the Indian camp. Coach Sanjay Sachdeva is positive that India will finish on top in the medals tally. “I don’t see any reason why we cannot dominate. The ambience and conditions are near-perfect for the shooters to excel,” he said. Incidentally, this is the first time the Indian shooters will be taking part in the Games.

If Ankush, coached by Subash Rana, brother of Jaspal Rana, gets going, that should be the perfect start for India which also expects great things from Deepika Patel (10m pistol) and Bibaswan Ganguly (10m rifle).

The Indian team: Men: Rushad Damania (50m-3 p and 50m prone), Bibaswan Ganguly (10m rifle), Ankush Bharadwaj (50m pistol & 10m pistol), Lakshya Bansal (25m pistol), Kyanan Derius Chenai (trap), Asher Gusti Noria (trap) and Smit Singh (skeet).

Women: Tejaswini Muley (50m-3 p), Aparajita Tiwary (50m prone), Rahi Sarnobat (25m pistol) and Deepika Patel (10m pistol).

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