Shoot this national shame!

By Digvijay Singh Deo

7 March 2010. Even as millions hoped that the Indian hockey team would somehow manage to reach the last four of the FIH World Cup, India lost a sure gold medal in another part of the planet.

Ace double trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi equaled his own world record of 147/150 in the ISSF World Cup in Mexico, the third time he has shot that score in a World Cup. Hakan Dahlby's score of 144/150 was the next best. But Ronjan didn't even make it to the final. Surprised? You should be. And thank the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for that.

Despite being one of the best double trap shooters in the world, Sodhi had been entered in the Minimum Qualification Score or MQS category and not shooting the main competition. The world record would stand but Sodhi missed out on a berth in the final.

The high scoring final saw an average of around 48/50 so Ronjan who had rounds of 49, 50 and 48 would have been a clear favourite for gold. Will NRAI now take responsibility for this? No, it will not. In fact by its strange logic and selection policies it has ensured that established Indian shooters are as clueless about their future as a newcomer.

Vikram Bhatnagar and Ajay Mittal shot 140 in the qualification round and Bhatnagar made the final via a shoot-off. The other official Indian entry Mohammed Ashab shot 137. I am not questioning the abilities of these two shooters but I am just appalled that the NRAI thinks it can get away by running the sport the way it pleases.

So why was Ronjan shooting in the MQS category and not in the main event? NRAI has a selection criteria that makes it mandatory for shooters to take part in trials almost every other month. It does not take international scores into consideration. Sounds familiar, does it not? Indeed, Abhinav Bindra has been making the same point. When do you want the shooter to peak - in the trials or in international competition?

Sodhi has just shown that it doesn't matter what you shoot at domestic trials, international competition is a different ball game. NRAI thinks otherwise. Elite shooters including Athens Olympics silver medalist Rajyavardhan Rathore and others have been protesting against this policy for some time now and they are being targeted by NRAI for speaking out.

Do India's elite shooters need to prove their mettle every other month? What then happens to their training schedule? Nearly every top shooter has a customised training schedule and find it a problem to keep rushing back from their training bases abroad to shoot in these meaningless trials. Rathore once wrote on his Facebook profile that trials were good to throw up new talent but they were not supposed to be an excuse to throw out top shooters.

My sources tell me that despite this 147 Ronjan would probably have to shoot another trial in Patiala next week to be eligible for the next World Cup in Beijing. Please someone stop this madness. That man has just beaten the best in the world, give him some time to recover.

Also who are the selectors who take such moneumental decisions? Avtar Sethi is now the acting NRAI boss. Baljeet Sethi whose two decade long reign as Secretary General came to an end after a recent Court order. TS Dhillon an IG Police from the CRPF and National coach Sunny Thomas. I know each one of them personally and they are good men but n one of them has ever shot an international competition in his life.

NRAI has been unable to cash in on Rathore's Olympic silver medal and Bindra's gold in Beijing. All it has managed is a contract for top shooters from Sahara. Interestingly, Bindra's name does not feature in that list because he had spoken about professionalism - or the lack of it. Also NRAI did not felicitate Bindra after he won the Gold at Beijing, that's how petty they are.

It's high time that someone puts an end to such nonsense. NRAI does not realise it is playing with careers here. Bindra believes Sodhi is a sure Olympic medal contender at London 2012. Is this the way India should treat him? Shouldn't the focus be on giving him the best possible support so that the country wins another medal in shooting?

NRAI officials were gloating at the recent Commonwealth Shooting Federation Championship when the pair it selected won gold. It's a different matter that apart from Russell Mark no top shooter was there at the event. Mark told me it was strange that the world's most consistent shooter was missing from the Indian lineup.

Many top shooters are fed up with NRAI's policies. They cannot go public as they know they will be targeted. Not everyone has Bindra's stature to take on these despotic administrators. Indian athletes come in for a lot of flak when they do not do well at say the Olympics. But it's not their fault. It's these I-know-it all administrator who cause the debacles. Their approach has ruined Indian sport and will continue to do so.

Mr. Suresh Kalmadi and Mr Randhir Singh, the Commonwealth Games will not change India's sporting outlook. Get rid of these men who are playing with athletes careers. Right now we win in spite of the system and not because of it. Come to think of it, there is hardly any system in place.

The author is a chief sports correspondent of CNN IBN.