We Lost Our Focus

Anjali Bhagwat is of the view that Indian Shooters in Rio did not look turned to meet the Challenges. “THEY DIDN'T LOOK READY to perform in the Olympics,” she says while talking of India's abysmal performance in shooting at Rio 2016.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

Anjali Bhagwat is a pioneerin Indian sports. She was the first Indian woman shooter to make it to an Olympic final. She entered the air rifle final on debut in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where Abhinav Bindra, the youngest shooter in the field, missed the final of the men’s event by one point.

Those were the early days of Indian shooting, even though Jaspal Rana, a talented teenager, had revolutionised the sport earlier by winning the centre  fire pistol gold in the 1994 Asian Games.

The excellent coaching methods of Tibor Gonczol and Laszlo Szucsak laid the foundation for India’s Olympic glory. Of course, the shotgun coach, Marcello Dradi, has also been associated with Indian shooting for long, guiding Manavjit Singh Sandhu to the World Championship in 2006, apart from helping Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the silver medal winner in double trap in the 2004 Athens Olympics, in his formative years.

WHILE DRADI CONTINUES to be with Indian shooting without being able to deliver much success in recent times, Gonczol’s services were cut short on a flimsy rule that he was past 70 years of age. Szucsak too had to move to greener pastures where his knowledge and methods would be well respected. He brought success to Iran.