'I don't want to be a celebrity'

The silver medallist walked into the ranges on Wednesday, dressed in casuals and sporting a big smile. The Perrazi gun was conspicuous by its absence.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore walked into the Markopoulo ranges on Wednesday morning, dressed in casuals and sporting a big smile. The Perrazi gun was conspicuous by its absence, but a bigger burden had been lifted off the Major's shoulders. And it showed, as he talked freely about Tuesday and his tryst with destiny.

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Rathore said that the enormity of the achievement had started slowly sinking in now. "I just did not know what happened on Tuesday. I didn't know how to react. Yes, there was this feeling of relief. When I went back to the Games Village, everyone came up to me, congratulated me and hugged me. It was overwhelming.

"I thanked them and told them it was not my win. It was everyone's victory. It was a win for the nation. Everyone was so charged up and felt now that the gates have opened for us to do much better."

Rathore said that the past few months he was away from his family were very difficult. "They were trying times. I missed my wife Gayatri, son Manav and daughter Gauri a lot. But I was willing to make those sacrifices.

"Now I can't wait to get back to them."

Rathore said he spoke to his wife at 3 a.m. in the night and she was elated.

What gift is he taking for his son and daughter? "My five-year-old son keeps asking me when I'm coming home. He doesn't want anything. He just wants me home."

Rathore has a few plans for the medal. "I want to hire a management company which can take the medal across the nation with a message for the young children: 'This is a silver. You go for gold'."

Does he feel that Indians lack the killer instinct?

"We are generous people but I feel we are changing now, at least in the arena of sport. It doesn't happen automatically."

Did he feel at any stage on Tuesday that he would miss the bus and crash out?

"Yes, when I shot 43 in the second series in the qualifiers I thought it was all over. In the past one and a half years, I have always made the final. The 43 really shook me up. I steeled myself to give my best from there on."

Rathore said that he was so keen to get on the podium that he did not sit in the spectators' stands when Mansher Singh and Manavjit Singh were shooting in trap. "I just wanted to be on the podium, not in the stands."

Did he feel that cricket is destroying other sport?

"Cricket is religion in India, others are sport. I love cricket, don't miss a single match. You can't compare any sport with cricket. But as I said on Tuesday, Olympic sport should get more media coverage."

Is he worried that life will not be the same anymore?

"I hope things don't change. I want to live like a normal person, not a celebrity."

Rathore also talked about his life in the Army, and how it had shaped his shooting career.

"I started shooting in Mhow. I'm attached to the 9 Grenadiers and have seen a lot of live action. In fact, there was a time when a bullet went through my leg during an encounter. That was really close."

How does he compare the Kargil war with the Athens silver?

"I'm proud of my defence services colleagues who fought in the war. This medal has also made me very proud. But several lives were lost in Kargil, I lost friends... You can't equate the two."