To Athens with no medal pressure

MUMBAI: One Indian shooter is going to Athens with no pressure of winning a medal. That''s Mumbai lad Ronak Pandit who along with athlete Umamaheswari Devi, has been picked for the Olympic Youth Camp.
The OYC, organised and funded by the Athens Organising Committee, is a cross-cultural exchange that will bring together young people from 450 young athletes from 200 countries.They will participate with their peers in learning about other nations and their customs and to share the experience of the Olympic Games.
The programme is divided into three sections over 16 days. The youth will participate in activities in Athens, outside of Athens and on a one-day cruise to the island of Saronikos. They will attend the opening and closing ceremonies as well as Olympic Games competitions, observe athletes training, visit archaeological areas and tour Ancient Olympia.
The first such camp was as the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, when King Gustav V invited 1,500 Boy Scouts from five countries to pitch their tents next to the Olympic Stadium to provide help for the V Olympiad. The camps have been a regular feature of Olympic Games since 1952 in Helsinki, Finland, with Melbourne and Los Angeles being the exceptions.
Ronak, a second year BMS student at Jai Hind college was excited about the said: "It''s like a cultural exchange. We interact with junior stars of the other countries."
Ronak attended such a camp at the last Asians in Korea."We were taken to sports of their choice, it was swimming. I think at Athens we will be allowed to nominate the sports we want to watch. I hope our shooters are there when I visit the ranges," said Ronak.
There''s some work too. "Each one of us has to make a presentation, showcase one''s country its sports. I plan to take our traditional clothing to show a slice of Indian life."
Ronak wasn''t sure when one asked him if he would be able to shoot there. "I don''t know if there will be competitions. I need to know earlier because taking a pistol out there means getting a lot of clearances."
Even if he doesn''t get to shoot this time Ronak is happy he has already shot at the Athens Olympic range. "I went there for the Pre-Olympic competitions and got a feel of the range."
Asked if the strong wind would be a factor, Ronak said "Wind and ammunition may be factors. But it''s the mind that''s supreme that can you take from top to bottom."
Said like a true chela of B.P. Bam the sports psychologist who has been helping the Mumbai gang of shooters, three of whom, Anjali Bhagwat, Deepali Deshpande and Soma Shirur__ are going as medal contenders to Athens. What will be the outcome? Ronak didn''t take time to reply. "I think we should have three medals I don''t know what metal."
While Ronak goes to an Olympic city twice in the space of a few months, father Ashok, a Commonwealth Games champion in the centre fire pistol event, is happy he isn''t making the mistake he himself did. The father is sad Ronak''s feat at the recent SAF Games where he won the 10m air pistol gold beating him and Jaspal Rana was overshadowed by the cricket going on in Pakistan.
He adds: "I chose an event that''s not there at the Olympics. But I put Ronak in the air and free pistol events. He''s got a chance to shoot at the next Olympiad." And the Athens experience will have been an important ladder towards the quest for a medal.