Spending money on shooters participating in non-Olympic events is an absolute waste, claims Ronjan Singh Sodhi
Ronjan Sodhi participated at the 2012 London Olympics
|Former double-trap world champion Ronjan Singh Sodhi claimed that spending so much money on shooters to appear in non-Olympic events at the ISSF Junior World Championships was a total waste. The shooter from Punjab featured at the 2012 London Olympics, after winning gold at the 2011 ISSF World Cup.
India recently returned from the 2021 ISSF Junior World Championships, with 40 medals, signing off as the most successful nation in the competition. However, out of the medals won, only 10 of them were in Olympic events. Out of the 85 shooters India sent to Lima, 58 had entered in Olympic events, while 27 were in non-Olympic categories.
Former double-trap champion Ronjan Singh Sodhi stated that spending so much money on shooters and their trips to competitions for non-Olympic events is an absolute waste of money. He feels that the money could have been utilized for hiring a good coach and provide training to a fleet of youngsters.
"It is an absolute waste of money. The money spent on this trip on shooters participating in non-Olympic events could have been utilized in hiring a good coach and providing training to at least 100 young shooters," said Ronjan Singh Sodhi, to TOI.
Also, the world championships did not feature any shooters from the traditional powerhouses like China and Korea. Ronjan feels that the recently concluded competition lacked competitiveness and it was more like a training session at a foreign nation.
"There is no match pressure, it is like a training session at a foreign location. What will the shooters learn when there is no competition,” he added.
