‘I’ll be the first to vacate my slot if someone performs better than me’

What is the permanent solution to this debate on the participation criteria for Elite shooters such as yourself?
A lot of people are taking what I have said about this in the wrong way. I am just saying that in shooting in India,at the end of the day,you have got 7-8 shooters who have been performing well in the international arena. We need proper nurturing and the freedom to choose our events with some accountability. Before 2004,we had a good system where weightage was given to every event on the basis of importance and average scores were taken into account. That was the time when shooting was coming up in India and shooters were performing well. Post 2004,I don’t see a set pattern of systems to select shooters for any international event.

Is there a need to have a uniform ranking system based on points from the tournaments shooters take part in?
There is enough reason to have a ranking system. There should be a point-based system and when there are trials,the top-ranked shooters can be given some weightage in terms of points apart from performances in trials. There should be expert coaches and personnel to evaluate your international performance and on the basis of those,a proper ranking system should come up. I am not saying past glories should be considered,but performance in a set frame of time before the trials should be taken into account.

A country like China bases its picks on pre-tournament trials. If all shooters here are attending trials,how much weightage should international performances be given?
I am not against trials. But you can’t compare India with other countries. In a country like China,there are about 1000 shooters in any international trial and most of them are at par with each other. In India,we don’t have that balance yet. We have only 70-80 shooters taking part in the camp and there is hardly any back-up to our top-ranked shooters. We are willing to take part in pre-defined international tournaments but our scores in these tournaments should be taken into consideration. I will be the first person to vacate my slot if someone else performs better than me. I will not sit and relax on my Beijing glory. We need to take part in international tournaments at our own will and we are just asking for a certain amount of freedom.

You are the defending champion in the world championship to be held at Munich. How important are events like these in your plans?
These events are very important to boost the confidence. A good performance lets your opponents know that you are still the best. Again,as a defending champion in the Munich World Championship,I am not asking for a permanent place in the team. I will be taking part in international events in Europe and my international scores can be considered too. But the present system is something which baffles me. I just got the trials calendar from NRAI and it says that the trials for the Belgrade World Cup are only two days before that. Are we machines?

What does the run-up to the Commonwealth Games look like?
I am leaving for Munich on Sunday and will be spending some time with my coaching staff. Unfortunately my coach Gaby Buhlmann’s father expired two days ago,so she will not be joining me,so I will be spending time with my guide Dr Uwe Riesterer. I will be taking part in an international competition in Munich before another one in Hague. I plan to spend at least a couple of months in Germany.