Shooters go through paces

On a blazing hot day, India’s shooters went through their preparations in right earnest for the Olympics.

Shot gun specialists Ronjan Sodhi, Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Shagun Chaudhary took turns to finetune their craft at the Royal Artillery Barracks, which has been transformed into a functional unit for the Games.

Sodhi, who has shed almost 25kgs over the last few months, looked lean and fit as he trained in the unit where tie-shoots will be staged if necessary.

“The training has been progressing well but I wanted to get used to this range as tie-shoots will be held there,” said Sodhi.

Sanjeev Rajput, who will be competing in the 50M rifle three-position event, was down with fever but was at the range for training on Wednesday.

“The shooters have settled down well. Abhinav (Bindra) who had gone back to Germany after checking in here, is to return tonight,” said Prof Sunny Thomas, the National coach.

The first event of the shooting programme is on July 28th, with the women’s air rifle event scheduled for that day. Indians will be first in action on the next day, with Annu Raj Singh and Heena Sidhu competing in the women’s 10M air pistol.