Rio silver-medallist Sergey Kamenskiy, who has four world championship medals, has already booked an Olympic quota for his country in the 10m air rifle event.The Russians participated in the 2016 Rio Olympics under a cloud of doping with several players barred from the competition. But amidst the gloom, rifle shooter Sergey Kameskiy provided the country with a reason to cheer by bagging the silver in the 50m rifle 3 positions. The 31-year-old, who is in Delhi for the World Cup, feels that doping isn’t as rampant in his country as it has been portrayed and feels “politics” is the major reasons the issue keeps cropping up.
“We have competitions under a neutral flag and that’s not good. I think it’s politics. They have been trying to solve the issue for many many years but they haven’t been. I am sure the solution is simple but something is wrong. I think it’s just politics,” the seasoned shooter said without wishing to elaborate it. He added that in his many years into the sport he had not witnessed or heard for any fellow shooter resorting to any unfair means.
Kamenskiy, who has four world championship medals (two gold), has already booked an Olympic quota for his country in the 10m air rifle event at the Championships in Korea last year. But he knows having earned a quota doesn’t guarantee him a place in the final team.
Despite his Olympic medal, Kamenskiy doesn’t get recognised on the streets since shooting isn’t very popular in Russia. “It’s not like I am a footballer. I am a little surprised to see that so many people want to interview me here. Back home, I am used to getting those rare calls from someone asking about my Olympic medal and that’s it,” the soft-spoken shooter said.
He feels things can change if the sport is made more spectator friendly. “Some events take a long time and the spectators get bored but the final shooting is very good to see as a show. I think the sport is big but it’s a problem with advertising. We cannot find big sponsors for our tournament and maybe the reason is because of the (duration) of the competitions.”
For Kamenskiy taking up shooting, a sport that has limited following in Russia, was an easy choice. His father Igor, who is a coach at a local club in Biysk, handed him the rifle when he was just 8. He honed his skills initially under him before going onto win more than a dozen international laurels, including several World Cup medals.
Despite the sport being largely limited following in Russia, he insists the country’s training and the support structure is immaculate. “We have the best programs in the country. The camps are good and we are provided world-class training,” he said.
