Sports India

Indian sports is in a daze, as Indian shooting fires away.

We have two world champions in Abhinav Bindra and Manavjit Singh Sandhu, crowned in a space of four days, when Indian shooting could not boast of even one in the last 58 years of its independent existence.

From the days of Maharaja Karni Singh winning the trap silver in the World championship at Cairo in 1962, Indian shooting has indeed come a long way.

Till the shotgun World championship at Nicosia, Cyprus, in 2003, Indian shooting had only four medals to show, including two at the junior level — a gold from Jaspal Rana in 1994 and a bronze by Rajkumari Dhodiya in 2002.

Of course, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who won the bronze in the World championship, has gone on to become an Olympic silver medallist. He has perhaps further ignited the spirit of excellence among the fraternity.

Jaspal Rana finished sixth in the 25-metre standard pistol with a 572 out of 600 in the World shooting championship on Wednesday.

Pistol prodigy Rana, who had shot into fame by winning the standard pistol gold in the junior event in 1994 with a junior world record, missed the medal by three points. He had scores of 192, 189 and 191 in the 150, 20 and 10 seconds series respectively.

The two other Indians in the fray Samaresh Jung (564) and Ronak Pandit (552) were unable to back Jaspal in the bid for a team medal and finished 26th and 50th respectively. The Indian team took the fifth place.

In the 10-metre air rifle junior women’s section, the Indian girls were unable to make an impact as Soudaminee Gavankar (391), Navdeep Dhillon (390) and Radhika Barale (388) took the 32nd, 36th and 57th spots respectively. The team finished eighth.

The results: 25m standard pistol: Men: 1. Liu Guohui (Chn) 577; 2. Jong Su Kim (Kor) 575; 3. Jakkrit Panichpatikum (Tha) 575; 6. Jaspal Rana 572; 26. Samaresh Jung 564; 50. Ronak Pandit 552. Team: 1. China 1715; 2. Russia 1711; 3. Ukraine 1706; 5. India 1688.

10m air rifle: Junior women: 1. Zhang Yi (Chn) 399; 2. Sena Lee (Kor) 397; 3. Yuriko Kaizuka (Jpn) 396; 32. Soudaminee Gavankar 391; 36. Navdeep Dhillon 390; 57. Radhika Barale 388. Team: 1. China 1183; 2. Korea 1179; 3. Germany 1178; 8. India 1169.

Indians put up disappointing performances in the 25 m standard pistol event with veteran Jaspal Rana and Commonwealth Games multiple gold medal winner Samresh Jung finishing sixth and 36th respectively at the World Shooting Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Jaspal shot a score of 572 with 192 (96,96) in the 150 sec, 189 (97,92) in the 20 sec and 191 (96,95) in the 10 sec series. Samresh finished with a score of 564 with 198 (98,100), 185 (90,95) in 20 sec and 181 (92,89) in the 10 sec series.

Ronak Pandit finished 50th with a score of 552 with 190 (98,92) in the 150 sec series, 187 (95,92) in the 20 sec and 175 (84,91) in 10 sec.

The gold in this event was won by Liu Guohui of China (577), silver went to Kim Jong Su of North Korea with a score of 575 (shoot off 46) while Jakkrit Panichpatikum of Thailand won the bronze with a score of 575 (shoot off 45).

Meanwhile, in the team event india finished fifth with a score of 1688. The gold was won by China (1715), silver was grabbed by Russia with a score of 1711 while Ukraine won the bronze with a score of 1706.

In the other events Manavjit Singh Sandhu finished sixth on the first day of the qualifiers for the men’s trap event. He shot a series of 25,24,24 to total 73.

The other Indians in the fray disappointed with Mansher Singh (72) and Anwer Sultan (72) finishing 13th and 14th respectively.

In the 50m 3 position rifle women elimination, Deepali Deshpande shot a score of 569 with prone 195 (98,97), standing 182 (89,93) and kneeling 192 (97,95). Kuheli Gangulee scord 564 with prone 193 (95,98), standing 182 (91,91) and kneeling 189 (95,94).

Indian shooters had a disappointing day at office as they returned empty handed in the standard pistol event at the 49th World Championships here on Wednesday.

Veteran Jaspal Rana shot a reasonable 572 and Commonwealth champion Samresh Jung scored an average 567 but young Ronak Pandit carded below-par 552 which put paid to the country’s hopes. Indian team returned with a total of 1691 points.

Rana was sixth in his event while Jung and Pandit were a distant 26th and 50th respectively as Indian finished fifth in the non-olympic event.

China won the top honours with a tally of 1715 through Liu Guohui (577), Jin Yongde (570), Liu Yadong (568) followed by Russia 1712 (574+570+568) and Ukrain 1706 (570+568+568).

Democratic People’s Republic was fourth with 1694 (575+565+554) points ahead of India.

“It was not so great a result for India today. Jaspal and Samresh were okay but Ronak shot a far too below his potential which affected the team’s tally,” coach Sunny Thomas said.

Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who has already secured his Olympic quota place for the 2008 Beijing event, however, was leading in men’s trap event after the first round.

Mansher Singh was also among the top scoreres

India’s fine run at the World Shooting Championships continued on Tuesday as Navnath Farthate won the boys’ 10-metre junior air rifle gold, a day after Abhinav Bindra and Avneet Kaur Sidhu booked berths for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Farthate shot 596/600 points to become the second Indian, after Jaspal Rana, to win a World Championship gold medal in the junior event, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) said.

Rana had won the gold in the standard pistol event in the 1994 edition of the competition.

So far India has won two gold medals - Bindra won the first one in the men’s 10m air rifle on Monday - and two bronze medals, in addition to the two quota places, in the ongoing competition. Bindra and Avneet have won the two quota places.

Overall, Avneet became the sixth Indian shooter to qualify for the 2008 Olympics when she finished eighth in the 10-metre air rifle event on Monday.

Her qualification came close on the heels of a similar feat that Bindra achieved in the men’s 10m air rifle a few hours before.

Avneet was fourth at the end of the qualifying round with a total of 397 points, after shooting 97, 100, 100 and 100.

And in the final she shot 10.2, 10.5, 10.0, 8.1, 9.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.2, 10.1 and 10.6 for a total of 101.1 and a grand total of 498.1/500 to finish eighth.

India’s Tejaswini Sawant failed to qualify for the final and finished at a distant 23rd with 394/400 and Deepali Deshpande managed a poor 70th place (390/400) in the same event.

Bindra, double trap specialist Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore - who won the historic silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics Games - Anjali Bhagwat, Narang and Manavjit Singh Sandhu had earlier booked their Olympic berths.

A total of 44 Indians, including 15 juniors, are vying for several Olympics berths on offer at the championship.

There could be more qualifiers from India. Among the hopefuls is the Commonwealth Games hero Samresh Jung, who won seven medals, including five gold and one silver, in Melbourne in March

India’s Navnath Farthate won the gold medal in the junior men’s air rifle event at the World Shooting Championship here today.

He shot 596 out of 600 to become the second Indian junior ever to win a gold medal at the quadrennial event.

Jaspal Rana had won the gold as a junior in standard pistol in 1994.

This is India’s second gold in the championship after Abhinav Bindra won the 10m air rifle event yesterday.

India has also won two bronze medals and two Olympic quota places so far here.

Indian had won the first ever team medal in a junior competition on the opening day of the championship when they claimed the bronze in the air pistol event.

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Ace rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra Monday qualified for the 2008 Olympics Games with a gold medal at the World Championship in Zagreb, Croatia.

The 23-year-old shot 597 in the preliminary round and 102.1 in the finals for a total of 699.1/700 to become the fifth Indian shooter to make it to the Beijing Olympics Games, according to the official website of the World Championship.

Bindra began the qualifiers with a perfect 100 and followed it up with a sequence of 99, 100, 100, 99 and 99 for a total of 597/600 from the six rounds to make it to the finals.

In the 10-round finals, he shot 10.3, 10.3, 10.3, 10.0, 10.6, 9.3, 10.9, 9.2, 10.5 and 10.7 to take his grand total to 699.1/700 (597+102.1) that fetched him a ticket to his third successive Olympic Games.

India’s Gagan Narang, who has already qualified for the Olympics, and Sanjeev Rajput finished 31st with 592/600 and 37th with 591/600, respectively, and failed to qualify for the finals.

Before the Chandigarh-based Bindra, double trap specialist Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore, who won the historic silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics Games, Anjali Bhagwat, Narang and Manavjit Singh Sandhu had earlier booked their berths.

A total of 44 Indians, including 15 juniors, are vying for several Olympics berths on offer at the championship that started in Zagreb Saturday.

Among the prominent ones looking to seal Olympics tickets are Samresh Jung, who won five gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March, Jaspal Rana and Ronak Pandit in the men’s category and Deepali Deshpande in the women’s.

About 2,000 competitors from close to 100 countries are taking part in the competition

A total of 44 Indians will vie for several 2008 Olympics berths that are on offer at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championship, starting in Croatia July 22.

Among the leading shooters looking to seal an Olympic berth will be Samresh Jung, who won five gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March, Abhinav Bindra, Jaspal Rana and Ronak Pandit in the men’s category and Deepali Deshpande in the women’s section.

Double trap specialist Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore, who won a silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Anjali Bhagwat, Gagan Narang and Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who are in the squad, have already qualified for the Olympics to be held in Beijing.

Rathore had already reached Zagreb for training, ahead of the rest of the squad that left here Thursday.

Coach Sunny Thomas and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) have high hopes from the squad, comprising 15 junior shooters.

“Although there are several quota places available, we should get at least two,” said a NRAI official, without naming the players.

The shooters had a 20-day preparatory camp in Bangalore under Thomas.

A total of 2,000 competitors from 97 countries have been officially registered so far, along with 600 officials, the official championship website said.

The competition concludes Aug 5.

SQUAD:

Senior men: Sanjeev Rajput, Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Samresh Jung, Vijay Kumar, Jaspal Rana, Pemba Tamang, Ram Kishan, Ronak Pandit, Vivek Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Mansher Singh, Anwer Sultan, Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore, Vikram Bhatnagar, Ronjon Sodhi, Amit Sanghi, Naveen Jindal (at own cost) and Mairaj Ahmad Khan (at own cost).

Senior women: Deepali Deshpande, Kuheli Gangulee, Anjali Bhagwat, Tejaswini Sawant, Avneet Kaur Sidhu, Sonia Rai, Annuraj Singh, Saroja Kumari Juthu, Shagun Chowdhary and Arti Singh Rao.

Junior boys: Navnath Farthate, Ful Chand Bangar, Hardeep Singh, Bapu Vanzare, Nikhil Singh, Amanpreet Singh, Zakir Khan, Pushpender Singh and Bikramjit Singh Dhillon (at own cost).

Junior girls: Navdeep Kaur Dhillon, Radhika Barale, Soudaminee Gavankar, Harveen Srao, Shweta Chaudhary and Nausheen Fathima.

Support staff: Sunny Thomas (national coach), Laszlo Szucsak (foreign coach), Csaba Gyorik (foreign coach), Sushil Chowdhary (coach), T.S. Dhillon (coach), N.S. Rana (coach) and Dhiren Bhatia (armourer).

The Indian team sported a confident look on the eve of its departure for the 49th World shooting championship in Zagreb, Croatia. The 44-member strong team, including 15 juniors, was scheduled to leave on Thursday for the World Championship to be held from July 23 to August 5. The team was awaiting the visa for Turkey, as it was booked to fly through Istanbul.

National coach Prof. Sunny Thomas expressed satisfaction with the training at the 20-day camp in Bangalore. “Except for the fact that we did not have the electronic targets much against all the efforts to transfer them from Delhi or to buy new ones, everything went off very well. We had an intense stint and not a single minute was wasted. The weather was excellent and the stay was quite comfortable. There was no room for complaint,'’ said Prof. Thomas.

The chief coach said that the team was leaving early so as to be able to practice with quality ammunition to be brought in Zagreb.

Quality ammunition

“We have quality ammunition for the competition, but did not have the same quality for practice, except for the last four days. We have no option but to buy them'’, said Prof. Thomas.

The coach felt that the Indian shooters stood a good chance to get two or three more Olympic quota places from the championship.

“There is a possibility that we may get medals also, especially in the team events, including the juniors. We have some strong shooters in juniors like Shweta Chaudhary and Harveen Srao,'’ the coach said.

In the last World championship in Lahti, Croatia, only Rajkumari Dhodiya had won a bronze medal in the junior women’s rifle prone event. Shweta missed the air pistol bronze on the count back after having tied for the third place at 382 out of 400.

Jaspal Rana had won the gold with a world junior record in standard pistol in 1994. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had won the bronze in the shotgun World championship in 2003 and the resultant Olympic quota place had paved the way for him to clinch the silver in double trap in the Athens Games.

In preparation for the World championship and the competitions ahead, Rathore had reached Italy by the middle of last month and has been training there diligently.

The team:

Sanjeev Rajput, Abhinav Bindra, Gagan Narang, Samaresh Jung, Vijay Kumar, Jaspal Rana, Pemba Tamang, Ram Kishen, Ronak Pandit, Vivek Singh, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Mansher Singh, Anwer Sultan, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vikram Bhatnagar, Ronjan Sodhi, Amit Sanghi, Naveen Jindal, Mairaj Ahmed Khan, Deepali Deshpande, Kuheli Gangulee, Anjali Bhagwat, Tejaswini Sawant, Avneet Kaur Sidhu, Sonia Rai, Annuraj Singh, Saroja Kumari Juthu, Shagun Chowdhry and Arti Singh.

Juniors: Navnath Farthate, Ful Chand Bangar, Hardeep Singh, Bapu Vanzare, Nikhil Singh, Amanpreet Singh, Zakir Khan, Pushpender Singh, Bikramjit Singh Dhillon, Navdeep Kaur Dhillon, Radhika Barale, Soudaminee Gavankar, Harveen Srao, Shweta Chowdhary and Nausheen Fathima.

Jaspal Rana won the gold medal in his pet event – centre fire pistol – as India wound up its campaign with a 1-2 finish on the last day of pistol and rifle competitions in the sixth Commonwealth Shooting Championships in Melbourne on Friday.

India’s medal count read: 27 medals, including 12 gold, nine silver and six bronze.

Rana, who won the gold in the 2001 edition in Bisley, England, tallied 585/600 to beat the challenge of veteran compatriot Ashok Pandit (576), who took silver.

David Moor of Australia finished third with a total of 572 points.

India added another bronze medal to its kitty through Sushil Ghale, in the men’s free rifle three-position.

Ghale totalled 1235.3 (1147 + 88.3) to finish behind New Zealand’s Slinn 1242.7 (1145 + 97.7) and Australian Brown M 1237.9 (1145 + 92.9).