The stage was beautifully set, especially in the Final Hall, as the shooters from around 50 countries went through the rigours of giving final touches to their preparation for the World Cup at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Wednesday.
While the secretary general of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), D.V. Seetharama Rao, said that it was not that big a challenge to host a World Cup in rifle and pistol, as India had already hosted many bigger international events, the Administrator, Manjushree Dayanand stressed that every effort had been made to make the shooters feel at home, by providing every conceivable facility.
Even though the cream of world shooting, with a bunch of World and Olympic champions had descended on the arena looking to bag the 16 Olympic quota places for the 2020 Tokyo Games , the non-arrival of two Pakistani shooters continued to stay as a topic of discussion.
“They are supposed to come today. We had done everything from our side. Things are beyond our control and it is for the government to decide what is best. Even if the Pakistanis get the visa, it depends on their mental state to come for the World Cup. If they don’t want, they can shoot the next World Cup,” said the NRAI secretary general.
The Indian shooters went about their task unaffected by all the confusion around them. “I have prepared well. I know what I can shoot. If I qualify for the final, definitely I will do my best to get the quota place,” said Olympian rifle shooter Sanjeev Rajput, who had a memorable season last year.
On her part, former World Champion in prone, Tejaswini Sawant said that more than anything, she was looking to shoot personal best scores.
On the eve of the opening ceremony, Manjushree intervened to say that the shooters had prepared nicely in a positive atmosphere and were ready to deliver the best results.
Anjum Moudgil, who has already won the Olympic quota with the World Championship silver in air rifle in Korea last year, said that she was looking forward to give her 100%, without worrying about the colour of the medal that she may win.
Manu Bhaker, the teen sensation who had won the World Cup gold medals among the women and juniors last year, said that she had prepared “very hard” and was looking forward to the challenge “with an open mind,” not putting any pressure on herself.
