City cop to take a shot at shooting medal

MUMBAI: A few days ago, when Abhinav Bindra was busy creating records in Beijing to bring glory to India-a city police inspector was shooting, not in an encounter, but for Mumbai and the department.
Inspector Anil Sardal (48) of D B Marg station is the only policeman from the city to be selected for the National Police Shooting Championship which will be held in Haryana in November.He finished second, after a State Reserve Police Force officer from Pune, in the state-level competition held in Pune between August 16 and 18.
Sardal, who joined Maharashtra Police in 1986, is proud to represent Mumbai at the national level. "At least 40 officers participated in the shooting-from-the-revolver category. I was the only one from Mumbai," he said.
This is not the first time that Sardal has displayed his skills with a revolver. He has been winning medals in such competitions since 1989. In a similar competition in 2006, he finished third in the state and could not make it to the national level. "There are international contests as well; I want to grab this opportunity and plan to practise hard this time," he said.
Sardal has been practising shooting since his college days; he was in the NCC. He was inspired by his father, Asant Sardal, who retired as an assistant commissioner of police from the anti-corruption bureau in 1995. Sardal spends his spare time at the shooting range in Naigaum where he practises. "Its my devotion to duty that produces results even if I don���t practice much," he said.
At present, Sardal is high on Bindra's golden achievement. However, he says there is an urgent need to promote sports like shooting in Mumbai. "More and more youngsters should take up this sport. China has done 50 times better than India in the Olympics. We need more heroes like Abhinav Bindra. Schools and colleges in the city should consider this," he said.
aiming for the stars: Inspector Anil Sardal of D B Marg station is the only policeman from the city to be selected for the National Police Shooting Championship which will be held in Haryana in November.