Genteel Sodhi shows nerves of steel to win in double trap

The two went into a huddle just prior to the 50-shot final where Khan spoke about this and that,and all else but shooting,as Sodhi headed into the decider,four birds adrift of the Chinese leader.

As it turned out,India’s World No.3 marksman and world-record holder,came with his Perazzi gun blazing as he shot 47 (total of 186/200),with Chinese Pan Qiang succumbing to both the Indian’s cool-headed precision in the adjacent lane and the home-pressure.

The nice guy finally finished first on this day,and nobody present at the Guangzhou Shooting Range would have grudged him the gold. The yellow metal seemed to be eluding the Indian shooters here at Guangzhou,but it was never over till the final gold was grabbed,and Ronjan Sodhi was in contention.

As the tricolour rose against the stunningly scenic hills out of which the Chinese have carved out their shotgun centre,and India’s national anthem echoed deep into the Rong Shu Xia Cun valleys of pine-trees atop the mountain,double trap had the perfect champion.

Kind,grey eyes,unassuming and soft-spoken,the gentleness not once interfering with what he intended to do with the gun. Missing one bird each of the first and the last of his twin-series,and one in between,Sodhi finished a brilliant three-points ahead of second-placed UAE’s Sheikh Juma Al Maktoum — cousin to the Athens gold medalist,where Rathore had won silver.

Starting from four shots short,this was quite exemplary,but Sodhi is known to shoot some of the most nerveless finals,like he did at the Lonato World Cup,where he didn’t miss a single bird. The two Chinese —starting in the lead after qualifications — were known to be shaky in the finals,but Sodhi still needed to ensure he didn’t drop too many and he did that with three shots to spare — plenty in the barrel. “People were saying shooters aren’t getting gold medals,but it’s very difficult to repeat a good showing so soon after the CWG. Shooters need time off,and we didn’t get any. But now we have the gold,” he said,adding,“now this should make everyone happy!”

Sodhi had started out in double trap after his parents wanted to ensure that there was no sibling rivalry at home,after his younger brother Birendeep chose trap at Delhi’s Karni Singh Ranges. After the first two days of dry-practice — simply lifting the weapon and aiming right,left,centre — fellow shooter Arti S Rao recalls how both of them,still students at Modern School,had failed to turn up on the third,after their backs hurt so much from the stance-training that made little sense without the pellets to the youngsters,then.

Sodhi’s come a long way since and is known as one of the calmest and most focussed shooters on the circuit,but not so self-absorbed as to not help others. “He empathises a lot with people,and will go out of his way to help everyone. So,at times,you need to tell him to think about himself!” Morad Ali Khan says,adding that once onto the job,the golden-man doesn’t stop even at perfection.

“He’d been shooting well,but we still knew we needed to change his gun. So a week after he shot his two world records,we sat down and worked on two huge pages of absolute decimal detailing to get him the right specifications of the barrel and stock. But the effort into the preparation was so thorough he took exactly a day to adjust to the new weapon!” Khan recalls.

On Sunday,there was little doubt then that Sodhi’s class would clinch India that coveted shooting gold medal,even as an entire gallery of Chinese support fell short against the Indian’s unwavering precision.

For five long hours,Sodhi simply lifted his gun on cue to the earlier shooter’s second shot,and brought down two birds in double-quick succession. Believers can call it a happy coincidence of the golden medal coming on Guru Nanak’s birthday. But India’s shotgun coach Marcello Dradi is emphatic in saying,“The medal went to India’s most professional shooter.”

Oddly,the nice guy winning at a gun sport suddenly didn’t seem to be so inconsistent.