Rifle shooter Sanjeev Rajput is in the World Cup finals, to be held in Munich in October, but he might not be there in the Commonwealth Games squad. Joydeep Karmakar too will be shooting in Munich, but again, he may not be there at the Delhi Games. They are not the only ones. Many other top shooters are likely to miss the CWG bus too. All thanks to the new selection policy, which was introduced by the National Rifle Association of India ( NRAI), the game's ruling body in the country, earlier this year.
The confusing and controversial policy, which came into affect in March this year, takes into account the aggregate score from two selection trials and an international event to arrive at a base total, which will be the criteria to select the team for the CWG. In other words, past record and world ranking hold no meaning here. "Many top and in-form shooters might find it difficult to make it to the CWG squad. Even if they make it, they won't be able to compete in their pet events," rues national coach Sunny Thomas, who also blames himself for the situation.
"I was a part of the (NRAI) committee which formulated the new policy, so I should share some of the blame. But then, any policy will have its plus and minus sides, and you get to know the flaws only when it's put into practice. But we can't do much about it, it's too late now," adds the veteran coach. Many top names, who were expected to be among the medals at the just-concluded World Championships in Munich, fared very badly there and that has complicated the matter further. "Some shooters did very well in the two trials but shocked even themselves at the Munich meet. So their aggregate will go down and because some of them have shot in the same event at the World Championships, they won't be allowed to shoot at the selection trials in Balewadi. I can't take the names because there's still an outside chance of some of them making it to CWG, but the chances are dim," Thomas added.
For example, Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra finished a distant 23rd in his pet 10-metre air rifle event in Munich. Bindra, though, would be able to shoot at the CWG because of the points he got due to his gold-winning feat in Beijing. But others might not be so lucky. Like Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who finished 68th in the trap event at Munich, faces an uphill task. Similarly, ace pistol shooter Samresh Jung has been struggling with a drop in form and unless he shoots exceptionally well in the August 27-31 trials at Balewadi, he might find it tough to make the CWG grade.
The confusing and controversial policy, which came into affect in March this year, takes into account the aggregate score from two selection trials and an international event to arrive at a base total, which will be the criteria to select the team for the CWG. In other words, past record and world ranking hold no meaning here. "Many top and in-form shooters might find it difficult to make it to the CWG squad. Even if they make it, they won't be able to compete in their pet events," rues national coach Sunny Thomas, who also blames himself for the situation.
"I was a part of the (NRAI) committee which formulated the new policy, so I should share some of the blame. But then, any policy will have its plus and minus sides, and you get to know the flaws only when it's put into practice. But we can't do much about it, it's too late now," adds the veteran coach. Many top names, who were expected to be among the medals at the just-concluded World Championships in Munich, fared very badly there and that has complicated the matter further. "Some shooters did very well in the two trials but shocked even themselves at the Munich meet. So their aggregate will go down and because some of them have shot in the same event at the World Championships, they won't be allowed to shoot at the selection trials in Balewadi. I can't take the names because there's still an outside chance of some of them making it to CWG, but the chances are dim," Thomas added.
For example, Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra finished a distant 23rd in his pet 10-metre air rifle event in Munich. Bindra, though, would be able to shoot at the CWG because of the points he got due to his gold-winning feat in Beijing. But others might not be so lucky. Like Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who finished 68th in the trap event at Munich, faces an uphill task. Similarly, ace pistol shooter Samresh Jung has been struggling with a drop in form and unless he shoots exceptionally well in the August 27-31 trials at Balewadi, he might find it tough to make the CWG grade.
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ReplyDeleteOur first Gold Medal was Bring by Shooter Abinav Bindra and now turn to Sanjeev Rajput and ....ALL THE BEST for Sanjeev Rajput.
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