Rathore swings his new gun into action

MUMBAI: Two objects will permanently glamorise Rajyvardhan Singh Rathore’s living room bureau. One, the silver medal that he won at the Athens Olympics and, second, the gun that helped him realise it.
"It’s my lucky gun and I love it," said ''Chilly'' Rathore from Italy where he is training for the World Cup shooting event to be held in Rome from May 16 to 23."I can’t depend on luck all the time to win medals. With certain error evident in my shooting, I had no option but to go for a new gun."
Even a proven shooter like Rathore had to go through the rigmarole for importing the gun. "There were many procedural hurdles, but I’m thankful to various government departments like customs, directorate general of foreign trade, directorate general of civil aviation and the Delhi Police licencing department for going out of the way to put the gun in my hands,"he said. "The Indian government must simplify rules for import of guns used for sport. It must realise that the gun is to shooting what a bat is to cricket."
Rathore, who will also be taking part in the World Shortgun Championships in Lonato (Italy, May 24-31), is not a natural shooter. The 35-year-old took a liking to shooting a few years ago and is largely self-taught. "That led to some mistakes creeping into my shooting,"he said. "I noticed them before the Olympics but then I felt it was too late to correct them. Moreover, I also enjoyed a good ranking. Now I am trying to become a better shooter."
So, how does he compare the new gun with his lucky gun? "So far it’s handling very well,"he said. "It’s heavier than the old one. Now my face is more straighter or upright when I mount the gun on my shoulders so I spot the flying targets with comparatively reduced stress on my eyes. How the gun behaves or how I get accustomed to it has to be seen over the next 2-3 competitons."
Unlike in rifle and pistol events, technological advances in shotgun are negligible for shooters to change their guns, according to Rathore. And few would change it in the month of a big event. "It’s a calculated move,"said Rathore. "This is the only year that I can change my equipment and get away with it as the Commonwealth Games in March, then World Shooting Championships in May and the Asian Games at Doha in December are scheduled next year. Sandwiched between then are the various World Cups and other international competitions. Years 2007 and 2008 are also loaded with competitions and too close to Olympic year."
Rathore is currently training with Italian Luca Marini with whom he trained before Athens too. "Both Marini and Russell Mark (Australian) understand me well. Since Mark would be participating in the same events like me, we though it’s best to train on our own."
As in life so in sport, Rathore is "continuously striving for excellence". "As of now sport is the medium for that,"he said.