Shooters slam theft allegations

Indian shooters who participated in the recently-concluded Commonwealth championships in Britain have rubbished allegations that they pilfered bedding and cutlery from the lodge where they were staying.

"Rubbish," said Baljit Singh Sethi, secretary-general of the National Rifle Association of India, of the allegations contained in a report published in The Guardian newspaper in London. On the contrary, he said, it was the Indians who were treated shabbily at the championships.

"They (the organisers) did not even provide spoons or glasses in the rooms where the players stayed, so how can they say that we stole cutlery?" retorted Sethi. "We had to buy our own plates, glasses and spoons," he said.

"They are saying this because they have to counter a number of complaints that we made against them," Sethi added.

India topped the medal tally with 13 gold, six silver and eight bronze medals, besides setting three meet records at championships, held from August 24 to 31. Apart from Jaspal Rana, woman rifle shooter Anjali Vedpathak won three golds and a silver while and Abhinav Bindra won two golds.

The newspaper quoted a spokesman for the organisers as denying that the Indian team had lodged any complaints. Rather, the spokesman said, "The accommodation that they (the Indians) used was left in a terrible state. Bedding and duvets were stolen, as well as cutlery and some other things."

Coach Sunny Thomas and ace pistol shooter Jaspal Rana, who won four gold and a silver medal at the meet, also termed the allegations as "unfounded and absurd."

The Indian team had to pay for everything at the championships, Thomas said.

"We paid through our nose. They did not even provide towels. And if we wanted to use the toilet, we had to go to an outhouse. Not even an attendant visited our rooms during our 11-day stay there."

"Until the moment we checked out on September 1, no one said anything. So why are they saying so now?" Thomas asked.

Sethi alleged that the organisers, out of "jealousy", had been constantly "finding excuses to disturb our shooters".

"When (trap shooter) Manavjit Singh left his gun outside the range by mistake, they created a scene," Sethi said. "Marcello Dradi (the Indian team's Italian coach) was made to apologise when he tried to explain that Manavjit did not know the rules," Sethi said.

Rana said that the police even had to be called in when a lady range officer refused to accept Dradi's explanation over the Manavjit episode. "Who knows, we would have probably fared slightly better," he said with a smile.

Thomas also complained that he was not provided transport to travel from one range to the other to keep track of how the Indian team was faring. "On an average I had to walk about 25 to 30 km everyday," he said. "Further, there were several shortcomings at the ranges themselves. We have pointed out all these deficiencies in writing," Thomas said.

The Guardian report quoted some members of the Indian team as saying that they had been allotted "shabby" cubicles. "There was hardly room to hang up my coat," one team member said.

At meal times, the Indian marksmen were denied second helpings, the report said, a fact that was confirmed by Rana. "Not only that, the food we got was what was served to us. We were not allowed to serve ourselves," he said.

The Guardian report quoted Thomas as saying that he had been informed at a communal barbecue one evening that "this food is not for Indians".

"I will read The Guardian report and decide if we have to take up the matter with the concerned authorities," said Sethi.

Indo-Asian News Service