London: Medal hopeful Ronjan Singh Sodhi on Thursday made it clear that Indian shooters, barring those whose events are to be held   indoor, will have no excuses to offer as far as weather and range conditions are concerned during the Olympics Games.

He was candid enough to admit that weather will play a major role and it will have impact on the performance of the shooters but then all the participants will be affected. “It is level playing field out there and the weather and range will affect all the shooters, so that is going to be no excuse.”
It was a welcome sign of maturity among the shooters who refuse to make  excuses of bad weather or range  impacting their performances.

Sodhi agreed that weather will have maximum impact on his double trap event, but one has to be prepared for it. “See  I have  been in this sport for a long time and having  being World Champion in 2009 and  winner of  World Cup I know how it works, You may be the greatest shooter of all time but you need a bit of luck on a particular day.”

Talking about the Range where the Olympic shooting events will take place, Sodhi said, “It is good and no cause for any excuse.”

Asked how is feeling being in Olympics Games Village, the ace shooter replied, “Well the initial excitement has died down, now I am feeling relaxed and good. It is good to be with some of the best sportspersons in the world. Having said that I must say I am enjoying every moment in the village.”

Sodhi who finished 7th in this year’s World Championship, was of the view that score of 145 out of 150 at this range will be good to be in the final. “I have shot 147 twice (World record equalling feat), but let me tell you all these records have no meaning on particular day when you are gunning for medal. Keeping all the factors in mind, I dare say that luck element is huge.”

Talking about the field he said, “Well needless to say it is very tough. There are 22 shooters including current world number one Peter Wilson (England) and Joshua Richmond (USA). I named them because you asked me otherwise all the participants start with same advantage/disadvantage   before the start of the Event.”

When told that back home (in India) there are high hopes from the shooters, he said, “I and my team mates are eagerly awaiting for the start of the competition .There is no doubt that Indian shooters have done very well recent times, Rathore (Winning silver in  Athens ) Abhinav  (Gold in Beijing)  have raised the profile of the sports and hopes of the people. Let us hope for the best this time too.”