World record-holder Ronjan Sodhi was on hand to lend a touch of class to the arena, as the media visited the Dr. Karni Singh shooting range in Tughlakabad on Tuesday.
Having practised at the venue for the last few days, in preparation for the coming World Cup final in Turkey, Ronjan was understandably all praise for the facility, that has been spruced up, and said that there was considerable difference from what it had looked six months ago.
With the focus on readying the ‘Final' range, that will be the arena for the finals of the 10, 25 and 50 metre events, the rest of the range looked ready to welcome the shooters, as just the finishing touches were being given.
Six-time Olympian and Asian Games gold medallist, Randhir Singh, the vice-chairman of the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games and IOC member, took turns with the administrator of the venue, Manmeet Singh Goindi, to explain everything relevant to the media, which happily moved around the arena in pleasant weather.
There was no hint of the problems that the range had faced owing to persistent rain and Goindi announced that the range would be fully operational on September 17.
Optimistic
He also said that everything would be in place when the first foreign shooter arrived for training on September 23. Invariably the shooters from across the Commonwealth countries will first visit the range straight from the airport, to deposit their weapons and ammunition at the armoury, before proceeding to the Games village.
There were a lot of improvements as fine-tuning had been done to overcome problems, but as Ronjan pointed out, one could always find faults if one looked for them.
Overall, the range looked magnificent, with its imposing structure, ready to host a world championship, rather than just the Commonwealth Games.
The finishing still needed to be addressed, but with still time on their hands, the authorities were confident that things would be in place when the shooters arrive to breathe life into the venue.
Ronjan Sodhi conceded that it was in his sub-conscious mind to be at his best during the Commonwealth Games, rather than spend all his energy in the World Cup Final in which double trap will feature on September 20.
It was understandable national pride, and definitely not owing to the commercial thought that it pays more to win a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games than at the World Cup Final.
“We have won maximum medals in shooting in the last edition in Melbourne. This time also we expect to win maximum in shooting'', said Randhir Singh, who was sporting the T-shirt of the last Commonwealth Games held in Melbourne in 2006.
