With barely nine weeks to go for the Beijing Games, National Rifle Association (NRAI) secretary general Baljeet Singh Sethi does not appear to be too optimistic regarding medal prospects at the Olympics. On Tuesday, a day after returning from the US, Sethi expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the top shooters, particularly the winners of the Olympic quota. “Except rifle shooter Gagan Narang none of the quota winners have shown the spark. Being off target is a matter of great concern. We should consider ourselves lucky if we win a medal in Beijing,” he said.

After Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s silver-winning feat in the double trap event at the 2004 Olympics, NRAI had projected that the next step will be gold. India got nine quota positions, three more than Athens Olympics. But now, even before the games begin, the medal story almost seems to evaporate.

Six aspiring rifle and pistol shooters preparing for Beijing were expected to be on track at the Munich and Milan World Cup competitions. Although Indian shooters got a chance to measure their skills with the best in the business, the shooters performed below par. Expect Narang, the other five prospective shooters didn’t figure in the top ten. Prior to the Munich-Milan competition in April, in the Beijing World Cup, Narang had won the bronze in air rifle. The others, however, were off target. Sethi said: “Gagan had also shown great courage in all the three World Cup competitions. It’s a good sign as far as his preparation goes.”