Drained shooters want rest after hectic selection trials

Tribune News Service

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, May 23

After a gruelling month of selection trials, in which some of the competitors had to participate in four finals, a few of the Indian shooting stars want to rest and recuperate. Pistol shooter Manu Bhaker and 10m rifle shooters Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan have written to the national association (NRAI) for exemption from the upcoming ISSF Munich World Cup. Pistol shooter Esha Singh, meanwhile, wants to skip the training camp in Paris in June and take some time off from the sport.

The Munich World Cup is to start from May 31 and the team will then move its base to Paris from June 8 to 19. Thereafter, they are to attend a training camp in Bhopal from July 7 to 15 and once again move base to France in batches before heading to the all-important Paris Olympics.

Manu wants to skip the World Cup to undergo physiotherapy and work on strength and conditioning. She also wants to travel to Switzerland and Italy for the fine-tuning of her guns and grips. The other shooters want rest after having competed in two separate selection trials in New Delhi and Bhopal within the space of a month.

The concern of the shooters was discussed during an interaction between NRAI senior vice-president Kalikesh Singh Deo and the shooting team today. Interestingly, the NRAI during the Mission Olympic Cell meeting with the Sports Authority of India officials had said that all the shooters wanted to participate in Munich.

“When I spoke to them, this issue came up,” Deo told The Tribune. “We have taken some inputs and have also noted their concerns. The NRAI will go ahead with a plan that is in their interest,” he added.

A coach said that the schedule leading up to the Paris Games was poorly planned. “Can you imagine they are holding a camp in Bhopal in this heat; nobody knows what will be achieved in this camp,” the coach said.

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