Gunners without the guns

The past few months have been replete with instances of ‘test events’ being conducted at venues that were inaugurated before completion and which gave little home advantage to Indian sportspersons preparing for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

Now, we have an event at a venue that is prim, proper and much closer to final shape, but which puts Indian competitors in a fix nevertheless. The ongoing Commonwealth shooting championship for full bore events at the Kadarpur ranges here has seen the local camp loaded with ammunition but no guns to use them.

Thus, it is no surprise that the likes of Praveen Dahiya and Amit Khanna are happy to be just participating at this level.
“We have had Indians competing with guns borrowed from other participants. In such a scenario, we can’t expect much more than participation,” informs TS Dhillon, the National Rifle Association of India’s (NRAI) technical expert as well as the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) coordinator.

Dhillon, who helped plan and construct the range, takes pride in the fact that it is being acclaimed as one of the better ones the world over and with several firsts.

“We not only have electronic targets but also moveable ones, which means that the targets can be adjusted rather than shooters moving (on the one kilometre range) to convert it for a shorter competition like the 900 metres or 600 metres event,” says Dhillon.

But he also realises that it has little significance for Indian sport because full bore events are not part of multi-discipline events like the Olympics and the Asian Games. India like most other countries, do not believe in investing in these events but had to build the venue as it is a part of the Commonwealth Games.
The Rs50 crore or so that have been spent on it have ensured an immaculate facility, but after the Commonwealth Games in October, it may be used only for practice by paramilitary forces.

“It is for the CRPF to make use of the facility as the property belongs to them. The complex at the venue could serve well as a clubhouse or whatever they decide to use it for,” says Dhillon.