My Olympic dreams have been shattered, says shooter Manavjit
New Delhi: Trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu’s dreams of qualifying for the Paris Olympic Games were dealt a massive blow in Kuwait on Sunday when the tournament director refused the Indian permission to shoot with his regular gun.
“I have shot with this same gun and the same stock for several years at World Cups, the Olympics and more events. This is a vendetta against India and me by the tournament director Abdullah Hamadi,” Manavjit said on Sunday. “My stock is modified but it was cleared by the equipment control on Saturday. But the tournament director told me I will not be allowed to shoot.”
A distraught Manavjit was in tears. “My dreams of competing in my fifth Olympic Games have been shattered. I have been vicitimised by an Arab lobby. This is vendetta and an attempt to thwart India winning a quota. I have shot for 25 years plus and my weapon confirms to all norms,” he thundered. Apparently, the Indian team management, comprising Anwer Sultan and Vikram Chopra, has protested and sent formal letters as well. “The tournament director fears me. He is asking me to shoot with another weapon, and that’s crazy. This is not some state meet where I can pick up another gun and hope to do well. This is a clear plan to destroy my dreams. Even writing to the ISSF will not help since the sport is being controlled by the Arabs,” said Manavjit. Manavjit has been part of the Indian shooting system since his college days in 1997. He knows the rules well and what technical changes mean. “I can imagine if I am doing something against the rules, there is nothing like that. This is daylight robbery and nobody is there to say anything against the director. My efforts have been reduced to a naught as this was my last chance to qualify for Paris,” he said.
Two shooters will be in fray, Zorawar Singh and Lakshya. “I have been in shooting for so long but this Sunday morning is so sad. I mean, I shot the Rio Olympics with this weapon. If people are going to ruin dreams like this, the anti-India bias is strong, said the 2006 world champion. Manavjit feels such bias is going to have a serious impact in the long run. “We are in Kuwait over the weekend, we have moved heaven and earth, none to hear me or the NRAI. The ISSF is obviously not going to wake up and address this now as the TD (tournament director) has assumed all powers. In a way, he is telling all of us, the weapon control guys who checked my weapon have no powers. This is what I mean by bias,” lamented
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