Aiming For Bull's Eye

August 14 may become a memorable day in the annals ofIndian shooting when Anjali Vedpathak Bhagwat takes aim to grab a historic medalin the women's 10m air rifle at the Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre inAthens.

"I am very happy with my performances. Speciallymy consistency in scores. Everything is going as per plan. Pre-Olympics was alittle bad in terms of medals but I have no worries as the scores weregood," Anjali said at the national team's training camp in Bangalore.

"I plan to peak at the World Cup in Milan (June 14-21)and then inter-club competitions in Kuala Lumpur or Spain," said Anjali,whose pet event -- the 10m air rifle -- is slated as the first event in shootingat the Athens Olympics.

The Indian ace is also confident of her chances inrifle three position in which she won bronze in the recent Sydney World Cup.

"I was able to improve upon my performance in thethree position event since December, thanks to the guidance of (Kazakh) coachStanislov Lapitaus. I won my first medal at the World Cup in Sydney. It hasenhanced my confidence level," the 34-year-old CISF inspector said.

"I have started working towards my goals sinceearning the Olympic berth. I got my barrel changed on the advise of Lapitaus,who is attached to the Army shooters training centre in Mhow and also got ittested in an ammunition factory. But few technical points like how to shoot inwindy conditions in Athens are yet to be learnt," she said.

Looking back at her progress Anjali said "My aim in Sydney was to improveon three position. Before the event, I had only three sessions of practice ofair rifle, but still my score was good."

Defending her shifting focus to three position, Anjalisaid her preparations for air rifle did not suffer.

"It did not suffer only because of my threeposition event. It was not the right time to peak (in 10m air rifle). If youreturn a high score, then it becomes difficult to maintain it for a year. So,instead of facing that tension, it is better to score at your average level andpeak just before the Olympics to gain confidence," she explained.

On the possibility of a golden double as she would alsobe competing in the rifle three position, Anjali said: "You cannot predictanything in shooting, particularly in three position since many factors have tobe taken into consideration on that day. But I am confident for the other event(10m air rifle). I have worked hard and proved my standard in World Cups, wherea bit of luck also counts as winners are separated by fractions".

But if Anjali is concerned about anything before D-Day,it is the uncertain weather conditions in Athens.

"Indian shooters are not used to performing inwindy conditions and the weather also is important. The Athens range is verywindy and we are not used to such ranges. Also, we do not have options forammunition according to the prevailing weather conditions like one for humidconditions or another lot for rain. Even if you have an advantage of five or sixpoints it matters a lot," she said.

PTI