File image of Rajeshwari Kumari.© X (Twitter)

Former Indian shooter Jaspal Rana has slammed the National Rifle Association of India’s (NRAI) decision to send the Olympic-bound shooters for the World Cup in Munich, starting on Friday. In an exclusive interview with IANS, the Asian Games gold medallist shooter Rana questioned the selection of Olympic-bound shooters in the World Cup just before the quadrennial showpiece. The veteran said the event will not aid shooters for Olympic preparations as it is tough to sustain peak performance for such a long period.

“There will be a World Cup in Munich after the hectic one-month Olympic trials. No player wants to perform badly in the World Cup. If you’re at the peak, will you be at the peak after one month also? Which sports science centre will tell you that players can stay at peak for three months? You can’t stay at peak level for long,” Rana told IANS.

“The policy was wrong and when you’ve made the policy just stick to it. You’re not sticking to your policy. If there is no ranking and point system in the Munich World Cup, why are you delaying the names of the selected shooters for the Olympics? Even if you have to adjust one to two players, then reveal the rest of the players so that they can start their preparations,” he added.

After competing at the Munich World Cup, the team will proceed to a camp in France before heading back for a two-week break at home. They will then assemble for a camp in Bhopal, before departing for the Olympic Games.

The 47-year-old further said that India should have replicated the approach opted by other countries including China and the USA, who have sent their second-string squad for the World Cup in Germany.

“Other countries have sent their B or C category squad for the World Cup. Very less Olympic-bound shooters will participate in it. This is not an opportunity for the Olympic team,” Rana asserted.

With less than two months left for the coveted Games to begin in Paris, there is still no clarity on India’s shooting squad for the event.

“I’ve failed to understand that if NRAI doesn’t have the president, chairman of the selection committee and policy-making committee, then how they are selecting the team? It could be one of the reasons that the chairman of the NRAI selection committee is not there, that’s why they’re delaying the announcement,” he said.

Despite the multiple challenges, Rana is hopeful of better results from Indian shooters in Paris.

“Yes, we were well prepared last time. This time too, our preparations are pretty well. The only thing that went wrong last time was the postponement of the Games due to Covid-19. Our team was at its peak at the time of the Olympics (as per the original schedule in 2020). After that due to a lot of problems, we couldn’t manage it properly.

“I’m quite positive,” Rana said on India’s medal chances in the Paris Olympics.

Sift Kaur Samra won her third women’s 50m rifle 3 positions competition while Niraj Kumar emerged victorious in the men’s event for a second time on the penultimate day of the Olympic Selection Trial (OST) 3 and 4 in Bhopal on Saturday. Sift shot 461.3 in the women’s 3P trial 4 final to edge out Nischal by a point. Ashi Chouksey was third with 448.1. Shriyanka Sadangi and Anjum Moudgil were fourth and fifth respectively in the five-woman field. In the men’s 3P, Niraj finished on top with a healthy 462.9, a whole 1.7 ahead of second-placed Chain Singh.

Aishwary Tomar was third with 449.8, while Swapnil Kusale and Akhil Sheoran finished fourth and fifth respectively.

The results confirmed Sift as the top finisher in women’s 3P, considering three best scores out of the four trials.

Anjum Moudgil also confirmed her position as second best of the trials among the five qualified shooters. In the men’s 3P, Aishwary Tomar and Swapnil Kusale finished 1-2 after the competition of four trial matches.

Clarity in air events

The day also saw the qualification rounds of the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle and air pistol trial 4 play out.

While Sri Karthik Sabari Raj topped the men’s air rifle with a score of 631.6, Ramita Jindal was the star of the day, posting a scintillating 636.4 (0.1 more than the existing world record set by China’s Han Jiayu at the Baku World Cup earlier this month) to top the women’s air rifle.

Ramita’s effort meant that she was now second in the overall calculations, just 0.1 behind Olympian Elavenil Valarivan, whose score of 633.0 has taken her to the top of the standings.

Ramita at the start of the day was in the fourth position. Mehuli Ghosh (633.1) was second, while Nancy (630.6) and Tilottama Sen (628.8) were fourth and fifth respectively.

In the men’s air rifle, the results had no bearing on the standings as Sandeep Singh (fourth with 628.3) and Arjun Babuta (fifth with 624.7) maintained their top two positions in the calculations.

Manu Bhaker confidently topped the women’s 10m air pistol standings, finishing on top of the trial 4 qualification round with a score of 581.

Surbhi Rao (577) was second while Palak (572) was third. Rhythm Sangwan was fourth on the same score as Palak’s but lost out on inner 10s while Esha Singh was fifth with 572.

In the men’s air pistol, Sarabjot Singh shot 584 to top the trial 4 qualifications, while Arjun Singh Cheema was second with 583. Varun Tomar (577) was third, Ravinder Singh (576) fourth and Naveen (574) finished fifth.

The results in air pistol meant that in the present calculations, Manu and Rhythm are 1-2 in the women’s air pistol while Sarabjot and Arjun have the top two slots in the men’s event.

Anjum Moudgil in action© X (Twitter)

Manu Bhaker in action© X (Twitter)