Tough to stay at the top, says Manavjeet

TRAP SHOOTING world champion Manavjeet Singh is happy to note that shooting is gaining tremendous popularity in India, especially after Major Rajyavardhan Singh won the silver medal in Olympics.

TRAP SHOOTING world champion Manavjeet Singh is happy to note that shooting is gaining tremendous popularity in India, especially after Major Rajyavardhan Singh won the silver medal in Olympics.

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Manavjeet, who was in the City to attend the Vikram award presentation ceremony, told Hindustan Times that it was tough to achieve number one position and tougher still to maintain it.

Singh won the team gold in Asian shooting championship in 1995 and since then he has never looked back. The 29-year-old shooter from Punjab has consistently improved his game. “Winning or losing is part of the game. More important is to keep challenging opponents,” he remarked.

He was happy that of late, cricket no longer overshadowed other sports like shooting and snooker in which India has excelled internationally. “It was lack of support from the media and Government that shooting could not get required exposure in the past.”

However, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s silver medal changed that, he added saying now the Government was also evincing interest in shooting. “I have had enough Government support whenever I needed it,” he said.

About foreign coaches, he said that there is nothing wrong in hiring coaches from abroad. “My coach Marcello Dradi is from Italy and I don’t find any problem in that.” Dradi also helped Olympic double trap silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in early days. Manavjit, who grew up watching his father Gurbir Sandhu, an international marksman, gives credit for his success to the father.