Asian Games gold-medallist marksman Ronjan Sodhi
Credit: X/@SodhiRonjan
New Delhi: Asian Games gold-medallist marksman Ronjan Sodhi on Friday said the Indian shooting contingent's preparations for Paris Olympics could have been planned in a better way and demanded more say for sportspersons in the running of the national federation.
The Olympian double-trap shooter said the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was late in announcing the 21-member contingent for Paris, adding that he still has high hopes from the jumbo squad.
A record number of shooters have qualified for the Paris Games with the previous best being 15 at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, raising expectations that India would break the jinx of going without a medal in the sport in the last two editions of the quadrennial showpiece.
Asked if the preparations and the timing of announcement of the squad was ideal, the Khel Ratna awardee said, "I speak my mind. I don't think so. It (timing) could have been better. It's too late... two months before the games you (NRAI) are announcing the team?
"I would say you have to give six months to a year to give the athletes to kind of even register that person is going (to the Olympics). People are struggling to find their kit. So, things could have been better," opined the shotgun shooter, who won gold at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, on the sidelines of a panel discussion on India's preparations for Paris Olympics here.
While several shooting powerhouses in Europe and other part of the world announced their contingents in March-April, the NRAI announced the contingent after a series of four selection trials in two batches in mid-June, resulting in a lot of anxiety among shooters who had difficulty planning their preparations and foreign exposure trips.
"I think they (NRAI) must have thought about something, whether having trials at the last moment or whatever, whether there was a selection policy which was in order. I would say, there should be more sportspersons when it comes to selection matters in the whole (NRAI) panel," said the veteran marksman, who was ranked No.1 at his peak and won back-to-back World Cup Final gold medals in 2010 and 2011.
He said that in order to make things more sportsperson-friendly, there should be more athletes running the sports federations in the country.
"Bring in more sportsperson into the federations. I am not saying all sportspersons can run the federations, but you have to have a mix. There are people who are looking after the administration; they are also needed. But, just having politicians in the federations... there should be more sportspersons as well," he added.
"I also told the sports minister about this and the senior sports officials as well. There is the need to involve more sportspersons in federations." Ronjan hoped the shooting contingent would come up with a strong showing in Paris, though he did not put a number on the medals they could win.
"If you see, 21 shooters have qualified, which is the biggest (Indian) shooting contingent ever. I hope that they do well but shooting is one sport nobody can predict.
"I was world No.2 going into the (2012 London) Olympics and didn't win a medal. So let's keep our fingers crossed. They've (Indian shooters for Paris) trained well, they have a very good team of coaches and physiotherapists.
"They are in the best hands, so I hope they'll do well. But we cannot predict how many medals and who are going to win," he added.
"Everybody in the shooting contingent is capable of winning a medal. In 2012 London Olympics, nobody thought Vijay Kumar (silver in rapid-fire pistol) is going to win a medal. Ok Gagan (Narang) fine, I understand.
"Nobody knew rifle shooter Joydeep (Karmakar) is going to finish fourth at the London Olympics... so we cannot predict anything but I wish all the very best to the team." The champion former shooter, however, said that the contingent, comprising mostly of first-timers and youngsters, would enter the shooting ranges in Paris with a lot of confidence.
"They are fearless, that's an advantage (with youngsters), they are the underdogs, nobody knows them. If I ask the names of the 21 shooters going to Paris, nobody would know most of their names.
"So it's a good thing. They have done well on the international stage, won medals in various competitions. So they know the environment very well," he said.