Palembang: Back to back scheduling of Asian Games and World Championships has forced the Indian shooting contingent to be frugal with the use of live ammunition.
A shooter can only carry five kilograms of ammunition on international flights and they always have to be meticulous while planning for tournaments. The squad knew of the schedule (World Championships begin in Korea, August 31) well in advance but the 5kg rules had led to shooters being more careful than ever. Barring the 10m events where lead pellets are used, shooters shoot with live ammunition.
“The 5kg ammunition per person is also inclusive of the packaging, so basically it comes down to 4.5kg for bullets. For a rifle/pistol shooter, that quantity equals to 1,200 shots, which is four days of training,” pistol coach Ronak Pandit, who is here with the team, told this agency.
“Here the organisers are co-operating but in World Cup and World Championships, you need about 700 shots for unofficial training, pre- event training, elimination, qualification and final. Our planning for events starts well in advance. There is no room for error,” Pandit, the husband of Heena Sidhu, added.
The situation is worse for big bore shooters. “Since their ammunition is bigger and heavier, the 5kg equals to just 200 bullets. It means they have to be even more careful with how they use them. A lot of times then end up dry firing to save bullets,” Pandit informed.
Lead pellets are not considered as ammunition on flights and being true team players, 10m shooters used their 5kg quota for their teammates. Even the support staff carries bullets on their name.
Some shooters including mixed rifle team bronze medallists Ravi Kumar and Apurvi Chandela, and silver medallist Deepak Kumar have already reached Korea for the World Championships. Most of the others will be flying into the premier competition after their competition here.
- Shooters permitted to carry only 5kg of ammunition on flights
- Back to back tournaments have prevented the shooters from training properly
- In all international competitions shooters have to use their own ammunition