Trouble shooting

Today, Suma is relaxed and says it was all worth it. But ask her about Beijing 2008 and she closes her eyes, shakes her head and says: ‘‘Not again’’.

It’s pretty much the sentiment echoing around the National Shooting Championships at Indore’s Reoti Range. The euphoria surrounding the sport less than two months ago, when a certain Major Rathore won an Olympic silver, has dissipated. The shooting community is back to reality, and the reality is harsh.

The basic problem surrounding the sport is this: The government’s tight control over the sport — because of the tools of the trade — and its inability/refusal to make things easy for the sportsmen. Given that virtually everything — weapons, ammunition, clay birds — is imported, shooting is tied up in the License Raj where babus rule and red-tape trips one at every step.

‘‘Those who make government policy have no idea about shooting as a sport’’, says shooter-turned-legislator Jaspal Rana. ‘‘They confuse sporting equipment with weapons used by terrorists.’’

Commonwealth gold medallist Samresh Jung echoes him: ‘‘As a shooter I need to concentrate, I can’t afford to be bothered by these things. All I know is things need to be changed. Somebody has to do it’’

Here’s a four-step guide to what’s troubling shooting:

Story continues below this ad ‘‘Just making photocopies for the all the forms needed to buy a gun costs Rs 250 ’’ – Ashok Pandit

Step One: The talent pool
How does the government control the sport? Simple: You need a license to import a gun; the government decides who gets that license. Only 25 people in each category — according to the ranks at each Nationals — can get a license, they are the National Rifle Association of India-certified Renowned Shooters. So technically in this country there are about 25 serious shooters in each category who are practicing for an Olympic medal.

Is that enough? Yes, says NRAI president Baljit Singh Sethi: ‘‘Importing weapons is a sensitive issue. We are happy that the government has raised it from 10 to 25.’’

No, say the shooters. Navin Jindal, MP, industrialist and national shooting champion, is leading this cause. ‘‘Everybody who qualifies for the nationals should be allowed to import a weapon. Only then will shooting become a mass sport.’’ Jindal, also president of the Chhattisgarh state shooting association, says lifting of restrictions can help the sport in India in a big way.

Till then, it’s a catch-22 situation, as Jaspal Rana points out. ‘‘If you want to be a top 25 shooter you have to own a good weapon. To do that, though, you have to be among the top 25. It’s a protectionist policy, and it keeps talent out of the loop.’’

Step Two: The Paper Chase
Being a Renowned Shooter doesn’t cut any ice with Babudom. Once you’ve qualified to import a weapon, you have to go through the procedure of actually buying it (see box).

Ashok Pandit, a top shooter himself and whose son Ronak is a budding ace, is a regular on this highway to hell. ‘‘Just the photocopies for this procedure cost about Rs 250.’’

While the Delhi shooters can chase their files from Shastri Bhavan, Nehru Stadium and DGFT, those in other parts of the country have to make endless calls and frequent trips to follow their case. It’s an ordeal that fills Suma with dread. ‘‘There are times when I make do with a slight problem in the weapon. The utter disinterest of the government officials really drains out a person.’’

Indeed, such is the procedure that top shooters need backup staff just to deal with paperwork. The Ranas — a family of four serious shooters — have made a sacrifice. ‘‘My younger brother Vivek (a national champ once) does all the paperwork. And that’s the reason his shooting is sidelined,’’ says Jaspal.

Step Three: Out of ammo
Each RS can import 15,000 rounds of ammunition per year. That sounds like a lot but it isn’t enough for the shooter — and it’s peanuts for most top companies, who simply won’t deliver in small quantities. So it’s fallback to air mail, which is too expensive.

The NRAI was, till recently, the sole distributor of ammunition in India. A new notification allows even the state associations to directly import and sell ammunition. SAI too distributes ammunition but that is only for shooters in the national squad.

Jindal suggests a cheaper option. ‘‘If the authorities pool in, book a container and ship it here the ammunition will available at half price,’’ he says.

What’s the cost? One practice session for Rathore’s double barrel event costs Rs 2000; for an air rifle shooter it comes to Rs 600. High expenses mean most shooters stick to shadow practice at the range on most days.

Jindal is one of the few who can afford the ammunition and is candid about his advantage. ‘‘Do you think I am so gifted to be a national champion? I just get more practice; I fire 30,000 to 40,000 rounds a year, which is what some shooter might fire in a lifetime. Cheaper ammunition will help other practice more often and improve.’’

Step Four: Out of range
The Sports Authority of India ranges come with several strings attached. If you bring your own ammunition, and your own target, and can do without an electronic scoreboard, then you’ll feel at home.

Sai takes pride in its armoury but the shooters aren’t impressed. Jaspal talks of how once he made a gun after picking out parts from dead weapons. Before reaching top-level competition, a shooter has to pass this obstacle course. But like Samresh they learn to live with it.

So what’s the solution? Olympian Gagan Narang, just 21, offers a zen-like calm.

‘‘Instead of harping on the things we don’t have, we should concentrate on the things we have,’’ he says from six years’ experience.

But Suma can’t get one thing out of her mind. ‘‘After going through all this, when we lose by a hair’s breadth to shooters from nations with the best back-up and the ideal system, people say that we Indians lack the killer instinct. That hurts.’’

Maybe those wise guys should stand in the queue for Suma the next time she drops in at Shastri Bhavan.