National coach Prof. Sunny Thomas was optimistic of Indian shooters clinching a few more quota places for the Olympics on the eve of the team's departure for the Asian shooting championship in Doha, on Tuesday.
All the nine Indian shooters who have won the quota places already will also be present in strength for the championship, which is held every four years, to bolster the morale of the rest of the squad and possibly enhance the chances of medals.
Men's trap, women's air rifle and air pistol, are some of the prominent events in which India has a strong chance to grab the quota places.
Prof. Thomas was, of course, cautious and pointed to the bleak scenario of the last edition four years ago, when India failed to add a single Olympic quota to its collection of nine then, in the Asian championship.
“There are possibilities. We got five quota places in the Asian championship for the Athens Olympics,” pointed out the National coach.
With the tested ammunition from Birmingham in the kitty, the coach hoped for good scores, especially from the rifle shooters. It will also be the last test for all the qualified shooters and the coach hoped to announce the Indian squad for the London Olympics on January 23, after the selection committee meeting.
“We don't want our shooters to compete against each other. Generally, those who do not qualify put pressure on the ones who have got the quota. Once we finalise, the shooters will have enough time to train, experiment and need not worry about their place,” said the coach, as he stressed on the lessons learnt from the past.
The selected Indian shooters will have four World Cups to fine tune their aim, including one in London, before the Olympics. They will also have the freedom to choose the events that they would like to compete in.
For the Asian championship, the Indian team was scheduled to leave with all the shooters except Gagan Narang who was applying for a new passport after losing his original in Pune, apart from Samaresh Jung and Mahavir Singh who will not be competing in the Olympic events.
The junior team will be leaving for Doha on January 10.
