Indian Shooters Target Gold in World Championship, Asian Games
Indian shooters won 17 medals, including three gold medals, in Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
After winning a host of medals in the Commonwealth Games, the Indian shooters are now aiming to bring laurels to the country in the upcoming World Shooting Championship in Granada and Asian Games in Incheon.
For Jitu Rai, who bagged gold in Glasgow, the memories in Barry Buddon Shooting Centre is now past and he is only looking forward to the upcoming tournaments.
"My next target is the World Championship. It is from this tournament that we can get quotas for the Olympics, so I will not only look forward for a quota but also make sure that the country gets a medal," said the 'Pistol King' from Lucknow.
Same is with Prakash Nanjappa for whom the Glasgow games was the most challenging tournament till now.
"This had been the first big tournament for me apart from the World Cup in Changwon last year. I was in the lead till the last but the last shot messed it up and I had to settle for Silver. I have learnt a lot from it and hope to clinch gold in the upcoming championship and Asiad," said the 10m air pistol shooter.
Silver medallist Ayonika Paul too believes that it will be a gold for her in the Asiad.
"I am very optimistic about the two upcoming tournaments. It has been a great learning experience for me and I am presently working on the weak points. I hope this time gold will not be a miss," said the shooter, who just came back after a training session in Austria.
Apurvi Chandela, who won gold in the recently concluded CWG, also said that it is time to forget the past and look forward.
"I am not thinking much about the Commonwealth Games and keeping myself landed on the ground. It is time to forget all those and look forward to the championship next month and achieve a medal and ensure a quota for the Rio Olympics," she said.