Indian shooters gunning for metal at London Olympics

July 18, 2012
indian_gun

New Delhi, July 18: Double trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi put the new, hungry breed of Indian shooters in perspective at the Asian Games in Guangzhou two years ago. "We are winning medals because the concept of victory has changed. We are now focusing on the medal right from training. Earlier, we used to think of qualifying for the finals."

The 32-year-old from Ferozepur, who took to shooting as a child with the sport being a family tradition, not only exemplified the spirit in Guangzhou with the only shooting gold but followed it up with an early qualification for the London Olympics and moving to the top of the rankings last year.

Having had a great 2010, where he set a new mark and won gold at the World Cup finals before wearing the double trap crown at the Shotgun World Cup, a fine run at the CWG and the Asian Games, Sodhi repeated his World Cup finals feat the next year. Only five shooters have either shot world records or equalled them in the last 15 years. He is one of them.

What stands out is his sense of planning. An Arjuna award winner, Sodhi, who moved to double trap in 2001, resolutely made his way to the top after failing to make it to the 2008 Beijing Games - his request for a wild card was turned down although he was among the top three in the world and had equalled two world records at a World Cup in Belgrade.

In between, Sodhi even took the risk of losing weight after experts told him that he had to get fitter. He lost nothing less than 25kg and employed a physiotherapist for his general well-being.

And, to counter the wind and rain at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London, weather conditions which the Indians loathe, he said he had planned his training sessions under similar conditions in Italy under his coach Marcello Dradi.

But Sodhi hasn't hassled himself mentally. Although he hasn't made much headway in the recent World Cups - losing out on a berth in the final in Lonato, Italy - he is confident that if he can maintain a score of 145, he can finish on the podium.

Sky the limit for Gagan

Another shooter who is keen on maintaining the winning momentum is rifle shooter Gagan Narang.

Born in Chennai but raised in Hyderabad, the 29-year-old Narang, who has been in the sport since 1997, rose to fame with a gold in the 2003 Afro-Asian Games in his home town but realized his true worth in 2006 when he won four gold medals at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

Narang's magical moment came in 2008 when he touched the perfect qualification score of 600/600 in 10m air rifle at the Bangkok World Cup final before setting a new world record of 703.5 with a superb 103.5 in the final round. It was special for him as his stupendous performance came on the same day (November 4) when Barack Obama, who Narang idolizes, won the election in the US.

But the Olympics the same year wasn't as memorable for Narang, with him missing a berth in the finals by a whisker. Narang had to settle for the 10th position even as Abhinav Bindra won the gold. That was when he declared that he would work for the gold medal in London.

Podium finishes at the World Cups in 2009 kept him in the race for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna but when it did not come to him, Narang was downcast and stayed away from the limelight for sometime. But then glory was his in 2010 at the Commonwealth Games. Having won the Padma Shri earlier, he won the Khel Ratna too.

A knee injury kept Narang away from all World Cups save one last year but he has come back ever since. His performances haven't been upto the mark but the Hyderabadi has it in him to raise the bar in London.

India's Best Bets

1. Ronjan Sodhi (Double Trap)

Current World Ranking: 10

Top Show: Gold medal at World Cup, Belgrade, 2008 - equalled both world record of 147 and final world record

Main Challengers: Walton Eller (USA), Joshua Richmond (USA), Hu Binyuan (China)

2. Gagan Narang (10m Air Rifle)

Current World Ranking: 14

Top Show: Gold at World Cup Final in Bangkok, 2008 - world record score of 703.5, including a perfect 600/600

Main Challengers: Zhu Qinan (China), Niccolo Campriani (Italy), Abhinav Bindra (India)



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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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