New Delhi: Ace Indian shooter who is promoted by the Mittal Champions Trust Ronjan Sodhi, who is currently, placed ranked 2 in the world rankings, started his season under stern conditions. The marksman was seen in today amidst windy conditions at the Asian Championships, currently underway at Doha. This competition is the last chance for many shooters to grab their berth for the London Olympics 2012. Today there were two events in progress with three Olympic quota places for grabs.
Ronjan Sodhi and India’s only individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra , both promoted by Mittal Champions Trust, have already secured their quota places for London 2012 and thus this tournament has served them the purpose of a testing ground under competitive conditions. However it was a little different for Abhinav as the gold yesterday was the first gold for Abhinav post 2008, and this tournament was about getting him into the London 2012 mode.
For Ronjan Sodhi, the tournament was more of a competition that was his first after a lay off and it was more of an opportunity to experiment various different things he has been training with. He shot today in windy conditions. All eyes are firmly fixed on him for July 2012 and his every move now is calculated and planned. It is with this in mind that Ronjan approached the range today, and it must be noted that he shot very well except for one series where he stumbled a bit. He had two rounds of 46 but his final round of 42 proved took away his chances of making it to the final. He finished with a total score of 134.
"While the scores may not be a good indicator I am happy with my shooting in difficult conditions and am excited to get back into the swing of things," said Ronjan Sodhi over his performance.
Most of our Indian athletes don’t like being in the spotlight before any major competition, like even Abhinav didn’t want to win any big competitions before Beijing 2008. While Ronjan has been the world’s top ranked shooter for 2011, he also has shot all his competitions last year as the “favorite” and that is why starting off this year a little low key might actually be the right way forward. Everyone wants their athlete to win all the time but losing in a competition can sometimes be more beneficial. The unspoken and unwritten feelings thatshape up an athlete in the run up to the Olympics vary from person to person.
The national coach too was pleased with his overall shooting and mental state and has emphasized that it is important for every athlete to be fully rested both mentally and physically going into the Olympic year.
By Indian Sports News Network
