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Shooting stars
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Indian marksmen can outshoot anyone: Coach
No. 1 Jitu out of 10 m air pistol
India trust faltering Dhawan
Sanga keeps Lankan hopes alive
McIlroy opens up a big lead India in england 2nd test
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Shooting stars
Patiala, July 19 We expect big things from the shooters in Glasgow, but not quite as big as in New Delhi. In Glasgow, there are only 19 gold on offer, against 30 in New Delhi – the shooting competition has been downsized and several events have been cut, mainly the pair events. That won’t change the equations within the Indian continent – the shooters will bring back the highest number of medals. We’ve grown as a shooting power and have got some really big guns who have nothing left to prove and some young guns who are making a name for themselves. Four years ago, a significant step was taken – it did not please everyone, but it has had far-reaching consequences. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the body that governs shooting in the country, then came out with its new selection policy – it embraced transparency in selection matters. The results over the last four years have vindicated the decision. In the recent past, other than the humiliation the Indian shooters suffered at the Asian Games in China, 2010 and 2011 were extraordinary years. Most significant was the fact that new names and faces came to the fore. Be it the Commonwealth Games 2010 or individual competitions across the world, Indian shooters made their presence felt in the international arena. Led by Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang, who bagged gold in the 10m air rifle event, others including Heena Sidhu, Omkar Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Anisa Syeed proved their mettle in India’s home CWG in 2010. They won 30 medals, including 14 gold, 11 silver and 5 bronze. In the Asian Games the same year, though, the numbers were very different – just one gold, three silver and four bronze. In Glasgow, India will miss the services of defending champion Gagan Narang in 10 metre Air Rifle as he failed to secure a berth in this category and is replaced by Ravi Kumar. India's lone Olympic individual gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, a 10m air rifle shooter, had finished second behind Narang in New Delhi. However, Narang will go for gold in Glasgow in two events - 50m rifle three position and 50m rifle prone event. Mansher Singh, who will be participating in his seventh Commonwealth Games, is expected to bring a medal in Trap. In the men's 25m rapid fire pistol, Vijay Kumar is considered a strong contender, having earned gold medals in the previous two editions of the Games – in Delhi and Melbourne. Missing from action would be Asiad gold medallist in double trap Ronjan Sodhi, who could not maintain his tempo in the selection trials and missed out narrowly. Patiala’s Heena Sidhu and Ludhiana’s Malaika Goel in the 10m air pistol events give a glimpse of hope as they have been regularly performing well over the past few months and are in prime form.
The London Olympics bronze winner in 10m Air Rifle will compete in the 50m rifle 3 Position and 50m Rifle Prone events Recent form: Finished 36th out of 52 shooters 1 at Slovenia World Cup in 50m in Rifle Prone; Finished 12th out of 70 shooters with a total of 625.1 at Germany World Cup in Rifle Prone Heena Sidhu
Recent form: Finished 11th in a field of 122 by scoring 383 points in the qualifying round at the Germany World Cup; Won the silver medal in the Fort Benning World Cup; Won the gold medal at 7th Asian Championships in Kuwait City in March
The former World No. 1 will be in action in the Trap event, along with Mansher Singh. Currently ranked 8th in the world Recent form: Won the gold medal at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Tucson in April, scoring 121 in the qualifying round and 13 in the final round Finished 84th out of 133 shooters at ISSF World Cup in Germany
Vijay Kumar, winner of a silver in the 2012 London Olympics, will be in action in the Rapid Fire Pistol event Recent form: Finished 9th among 50 shooters with a score of 582 at the ISSF World Cup held in Slovenia; Finished 22nd among 59 shooters with a score of 574 at the Germany World Cup |
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Indian marksmen can outshoot anyone: Coach
The Ministry of Defence’s training camp is close to Carnoustie, and it is here that the CWG’s shooting competition will take place from July 25 to 29, in the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre. “Whosoever adapts to the windy conditions and the weather in a better manner will definitely perform well,” said six time CWG shooter Mansher Singh. “Last time India was in United Kingdom (Olympic Games), the new rule according to which spectators were allowed to make some noise and even cheer or boo the shooters came in as a surprise for them as they had been training in pin-drop silence,” he added. However, according to Mansher, things have now changed and now the Indian shooters can adjust to anything, anywhere. India’s foreign shotgun coach Marcello Dradi said that Indian shooters have come a long way since the heroics of RVS Rathore, who won a silver medal in the Athens Olympics in 2004. “We’ve been training hard over the past few months and the international tournaments have given the shooters a lot of exposure,” Dradi said. “Our shooters are now calm, more focused and ready to adjust their technique as they know that they can outperform anyone at the highest level,” he said. Another Indian shooter who just missed the squad by a whisker, and who did not wish to be named, told The Tribune that Indian shooters would have to adjust a lot to the surroundings, and quickly, as a majority of them have been practising at the New Delhi range in hot and humid conditions. “Suddenly the wind and the cool climate, though fascinating, will also take a toll on the shooters, who will need to adapt to the cool and greener backgrounds. During the Olympics, this was one factor that took the Indian shooters by surprise,” he said, adding that only a few of Indian shooters have it in them to adjust quickly. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) is one of the few sports bodies which did not fall apart when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in December 2012 for. After that, the NRAI held over two dozen training camps, sent its athletes regularly to international competitions, held national championships for all age groups, and increased their funding.
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No. 1 Jitu out of 10 m air pistol The world No. 1 in an event will not compete in it at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - he will participate in the free pistol event. The only saving grace for sports administrators in this instance is that it's not their fault - Jitu Rai did not qualify for the 10m air pistol event before the cut-off date, as per the NRAI's score-based transparent selection policy. It was only after the trials for the CWG had ended and the team selection had taken place on May 31 that Rai won a gold and a silver medal in back-to-back ISSF World Cups in Munich, Germany, and Maribor (Slovenia), thereby climbing to the world No. 1 spot in air pistol.
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From the ground GLASGOW: Heaping praise on her young teammate Ritusha Arya, the Indian women hockey team's senior member Rani Rampal on Saturday said the youngster is currently in her best form and could prove to be a big threat to the opponents at the upcoming Commonwealth Games, starting on July 23. The Indian women's team forward, Ritusha is at an all time high after her 'highest goal scorer' recognition in the recently-concluded Malaysian Tour and Rani believes that she could be the key player during the competition. "Ritusha Arya with her 15 caps has proved to be a big threat to the defence of the opponent during our tour to Malaysia as well as the recent international matches that we have played," Rani said. "During our preparations here, she looks in form and will soon be seen in action again. She has complimented our play on the field since the day she made her debut on the international arena," added Rani, a seasoned player with 111 caps. Ritusha was a member of the historic bronze-medal winning Indian squad at the junior women hockey World Cup at Germany last year. Rani, who will be representing India for the second time in the Commonwealth Games, said she was confident of her team playing as a unit and finishing on the podium in the upcoming tournament. The women's hockey team will take on Canada on July 24 in their opening match. Dutee Chand issue raised in Odisha Assembly
"It is really painful that Dutee Chand has been excluded from the team just two days before the players leaving for the Commonwealth Games. We will seek a reply from both the AFI and SAI as to why only she was put to test and not the others, state sports minister Sudam Marandi said in the Assembly. Giving assurance to the House that Chand would get justice, Marandi said his department would fight for the sprinter from Odisha. The issue was raised in the Assembly by the ruling BJD member Ranendra Pratap Swain, who alleged that Chand had been subjected to humiliation as she hailed from from the state. "Had Dutee been from Punjab, no one could have dared to do injustice to her," Swain said. Alleging that Chand's exclusion from the Indian team was part of a conspiracy, the BJD law maker asked the state government to take up the matter with highest level in order to give justice to the sprinter. Chand was dropped from the upcoming Commonwealth Games on the ground of high androgen level.
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India trust faltering Dhawan
London, July 19 The thinking behind including Dhawan is that even if he fires once in five innings, that one innings will be destructive enough to win India a Test match— shades of Virender Sehwag. So far in this series, his first innings dismissals were due to poor technique; but on the second time around, he has got out trying to push the rate along. The critics will harp on the loose shots but as India well know, one fluent and free-flowing innings is enough to break the back of the English resistance. Having watched the recent Ashes series, India would be heartened by way David Warner demoralised England in the 2nd innings. Dhawan is striving for that sort of an innings, and he needs a bit of luck. However, that elusive innings didn’t come on Saturday. The left-hander survived the initial overs, only to give up when he looked set for a big knock. After his fall, Vijay and Pujara shared a good partnership but Plunkett’s twin strike, removing Pujara and Kohli on successive balls, pushed India into trouble. Vijay and Dhoni took India to 169 for 4 by the end of day’s play. Brief scores: India 295 & 169/4 (Vijay batting 59, Dhawan c Root b Stokes 31, Pujara c Prior b Plunkett 43, Kohli b Plunkett 0, Rahane c Prior b Broad 5, Dhoni batting 12); England 319 all out.
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Sanga keeps Lankan hopes alive GALLE: Kumar Sangakkara smashed his 49th half-century as Sri Lanka launched a fightback on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa on Saturday. The prolific left-hander also shared 96 runs for the unbroken second wicket with Kaushal Silva (37) to take Sri Lanka to 110-1 at stumps. The hosts need 260 runs with nine wickets in hand to pull off a magical come-from-behind win with three full sessions left in the game. Brief scores: South Africa 455/9d & 206/6d; Sri Lanka 292 & 110/1 (Sangakkara 58, Kaushal Silva 37).
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Hoylake, July 18 The Northern Irishman began the day four shots clear of Dustin Johnson, was reeled in by inspired American Fowler after 12 holes, but magnificent eagles at the 16th and 18th saw him disappear over the horizon with a 16-under-par total of 200 at a rain-soaked Royal Liverpool course. It is 50 years since a player went into the fourth round of the Open with a bigger lead, on that occasion Tony Lema taking a seven-stroke advantage into Sunday at St Andrews in 1964. Yet for much of the third round on a links course softened to perfection by stormy weather, McIlroy seemed in real danger of missing out on his fair share of the birdie feast which allowed 17 players to shoot sub-70 rounds and 35 to break par. After 13 holes he was level par for the day and, with dark clouds brewing overhead, Fowler was breathing down his neck. He responded with an incredible 3-3-3-3-5-3 climax to move clear and only an extraordinary turnaround on Sunday can prevent him completing a first Open triumph to add to the U.S. Open and U.S PGA titles he won in 2011 and 2012 respectively. “I was conscious that Rickie was getting a little closer or Sergio or whoever it was,” McIlroy, who would break three-times winner Tiger Woods's Open record of 19 under (set in 2000) with a round 68 or lower on Sunday, told reporters. — Reuters
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India in england 2nd test
Vijay (59) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (12) will resume on Sunday with India 145 runs ahead with six second-innings wickets left as they aim to extend England's run without a test victory to 10 matches and go 1-0 up in the series. Having taken a 24-run lead, England bowled with greater accuracy than in India's first innings, when they wasted their advantage on a green-tinged pitch that is now showing a touch of variable bounce. After getting rid of Shikhar Dhawan before tea, England's four-strong seam attack had shown signs of tiredness on a warm London afternoon. Just as Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara started to look set, however, a double strike by Liam Plunkett injected some much-needed life into the England side. First he had Pujara (43) feather an edge through to Matt Prior, before moving the next ball in off the pitch, hitting Virat Kohli's stumps with the batsman not playing a shot. Next to go was Ajinkya Rahane, given out caught by Prior off Stuart Broad on five despite the ball hitting his arm-guard. — Reuters
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The world No. 1 in an event will not compete in it at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - he will participate in the free pistol event. The only saving grace for sports administrators in this instance is that it's not their fault - Jitu Rai did not qualify for the 10m air pistol event before the cut-off date, as per the NRAI's score-based transparent selection policy. 
GLASGOW
: Heaping praise on her young teammate Ritusha Arya, the Indian women hockey team's senior member Rani Rampal on Saturday said the youngster is currently in her best form and could prove to be a big threat to the opponents at the upcoming Commonwealth Games, starting on July 23.
The Indian women's team forward, Ritusha is at an all time high after her 'highest goal scorer' recognition in the recently-concluded Malaysian Tour and Rani believes that she could be the key player during the competition.
london, july 19
Gagan Narang
The Patiala girl became the first Indian Pistol shooter to be ranked world No.1 in April 2014, though her current ranking is No. 4 in the 10m Air Pistol. She holds the world record of scoring the maximum points (203.8) in the finals of a 10m Air Pistol event.
Manavjit Singh Sandhu
Vijay Kumar
Patiala, July 19
Bhubaneswar: Terming sprinter Dutee Chand's exclusion from the Indian team for the Commonwealth Games as "painful", Odisha government today said it will seek a reply from the Athletic Federation of India and Sports Authority of India as to why the girl alone was subjected to such a test. 
london, july 19