Interviews

Anjali Bhagwat

Indian shooter Anjali Bhagwat might have failed to impress at the Beijing Olympics, but the former world number one is sure the future is bright for Indian sports after their overall show in Beijing Olympics.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV.com, the former World Cup winner shares her views on Indian sports and how the situation can be improved.

What are the positives that have come up from India's performance in Beijing?

It was a great experience, especially for individual sports. Shooters have dominated the Asian circuit, Commonwealth Games and World Cup. Now we have two Olympic medals, one silver and one gold.

Shooters at the junior levels are also coming up with good performance. One of our shooters recently defeated Olympic gold medalist and that too with good score. So things are definitely improving and post-Beijing I hope it will get better.

As a shooter, what were the problems that you faced or still facing?

The biggest problem is lack of proper ammunition. The ammunition that are provided, are not of the best quality. You cannot give winning results with sub-standard guns. Even if one wants to import one or two guns for himself on his own, it's not possible because the companies deliver in chunks and that's only possible when the authorities and federations take the initiative. So we are hardly left with any option.

Earlier, when somebody won the World Championships, the shooter was given cash rewards but they stopped those rewards after I won the World Cup. Probably they thought anybody could win. These things can be demoralising when your people do not recognize your highest achievements.

But all is not that gloomy. The shooting ranges are improving and government is also taking us more seriously. We have good shooting ranges in Delhi, Pune and Jaipur. In fact, Pune shooting range is good enough to host international events like World championships. Yeah but the one in Mumbai is in real bad shape. I never practice whenever I am in the city. It is scary as all that's there is ruins of a range.

Abhinav Bindra recently made a comment that politicians who are running the sports federations should pave way for CEOs. What's your take on it?

I don't know but it might help. The current system is very slow and lethargic. Each and every thing takes a lot of time to materialize. It requires a lot of effort to get anything done, whether it is asking for ammunitions or any other thing. So maybe with CEOs, professionalism will come and things will become faster and functional.

What steps do you think should be taken to improve the conditions of Indian sports?

It is very important to provide the basic infrastructure at the grassroot level. We don't promote sports as other countries do. China has sports academies, colleges in every province and in every city where they nurture thousands of students. They not only train them with best facilities but also guarantee them financial security if they decide to take the sport professionally.

In Sydney Olympics, one of the Chinese shooter Gao Jing qualified for the finals. Now she is the head coach of China's national team. Now if today I decide to train even ten kids for the future, there is no way that I can do it. Where will I train them and from where will I provide them the guns?

So it's important that the federation and SAI take initiative. They should come up with strategies to market individual sports and invite corporates.

But why do you think the corporates are reluctant to invest money in any sport other than cricket?

I think media is to be blamed for this. You guys cover other sports only when something big happens. After a few days, newspapers will again be full of cricket. You don't give equal space to other sports. Why will corporates put in their money if they don't get anything in return? They want popularity and goodwill for their brands and that cannot happen without proper support from the authorities and media.

What are your future plans? Are we going to see you becoming a trainer in the near future?

Now I want to cut down my competitive appearances and will take part in only major events. I am planning to shift my base to Pune where I will be training. I do have plans to become a trainer but not in the near future.

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