Short of ammunition, Gagan looks to NRAI for support

New Delhi, Aug 30 (UNI) Without ammunition for the Doha Asian Games trials, Arjuna award winning shooter Gagan Narang today said he is banking on the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) to provide him the cartridges for the trials starting next month after the government failed to do so.

Talking to UNI, the World Cup gold medallist, who has secured Olympic quota berth in three rifle events, said the shooters were running short of cartridges and while those belonging to the Army had it easy, others have been left to fend for themselves.

''I will be leaving for Germany tomorrow to select my ammunition and new rifle but I will have to request the Association to provide me with the cartridges as civillians cannot import them,'' he said.

''It has been very difficult. The shooters who are with the army will get their ammunition from them but civillian shooters like me have to depend on the government as we cannot import ammunition on our own. I will be writing to the Association and let's see what happens,'' he added.

The Commonwealth Games multiple gold medal winner said his immediate target is the Asian Games in December and winning the Arjuna award has given him the impetus to improve his perfomance.

''It has been very exciting so far. Winning the Arjuna award has given me immense inspiration for performing well in the coming tournaments,'' he said.

The shooter, who topped the world rankings a few weeks ago and stands second now, said he never lets his international standings affect him.

''Rankings depend on the number of competitions that one participates because they are updated after every event. So when I choose not to participate in some event the rankings get affected but I don't worry about it. I, for one, do not consider them important.

The ace marksman, who has qualified for the 10m Air Rifle, 50m 3 Position and 50m Prone events at the Olympics, says despite the showpiece event being almost two years away, there is not enough time to prepare for it.

''If you ask me I would say, we are late and we don't have enough time to prepare. Two years is too short a preparation time for the Olympics. But I will keep training,'' he said.

Having participated in both the World Championships and the Olympics, Gagan says the competition at the World Cup is far tougher compared to the Olympics but the the four-yearly sporting extravaganza was psychologically a more demanding affair.

''See there are four World Cups in a year but Olympics are held every four years, so the competition, I would say, is tougher at the World Cups because there we are faced with over 200 shooters compared to 60-65 at the Olympics.

''But Olympics is a differebt ball game altogether. It's the mother of all sporting events and the pressure is far greater. The Olympic Games are more menatally demanding,'' he noted.

However, Gagan said he never allows the pressure to build on him and that he knew how to handle the weight of expectations.

''Handling pressure is more of an individual thing. I don't think I get affected by it. In fact one can use to his advantage by keeping a positive frame of mind,'' explained the ace shooter.

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