The Hindu : Sport / Shooting : Narang desperately seeking sponsors

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2005

Sport

Sport - Shooting

Narang desperately seeking sponsors

By Our Sports Reporter

HYDERABAD, MARCH 21. He keeps winning gold in most of the international events but the sponsors still elude him. Hyderabad's ace shooter and Afro-Asian games gold medallist, Gagan Narang, wonders how many more medals he should win to get the much-needed sponsorship and financial support.

Speaking to The Hindu on his return to India after winning two gold medals in air rifle in the Commonwealth shooting championship in Melbourne, Narang said it was really frustrating to still look out for prospective sponsors. "I badly need support to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympics," he said.

The systems manager in Indian Airlines said that with the World Cup championship scheduled next month in Korea, he would be busy preparing for that to win a gold and thereby book a quota for the Beijing Games at the earliest. "I am desperate to win a gold next month to book the slot so that I can plan out my preparations and even hire a coach," he said.

Narang, the specialist in the air rifle events, recapitulated the golden moments in the Commonwealth championship saying it was a fantastic feeling to be on top in his category and that too with new meet records.

"That gives me greater satisfaction," he added. "Initially, I had some problem adjusting to the time as I had to repeatedly set the clock to match the local timings. The weather was similar to ours and we had no problems," he said.

Significantly, Narang said that it is time he won more medals. "Right now I have to be content with two gold at the most. I am very eager to return with a rich haul the next time around, may be after August," he said.

For him, what was more pleasing with his `double' gold performance was that it came at the venue that will host the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

For someone who made a `golden' impact in his first international meet after the disappointing 2004 Athens Games showing, Narang acknowledged that there would be huge pressure on him in the coming months.

"There will be a lot of pressure. It is a hell of a feeling to be out there. You have to strike a perfect balance in all aspects to come good," he said.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport