India pistol coach Pavel Smirnov expressed his disappointment. (Source: PTI)India pistol coach Pavel Smirnov reportedly expressed his disappointment over interference from a range official on duty and an unaccredited person during the qualification relay of the men’s 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi on Sunday. According to a report from Times of India, when Asian Games bronze medallist Abhishek Verma was about to finish shooting his fifth series of shots, a range official stepped up to tell him that someone from the stands was calling him.
The report adds that the Verma’s personal coach, Omender Singh had asked the official to bring Verma near the stands where he was sitting. It further added that Singh was not among India’s accredited officials for the tournament.
On seeing the situation being developed, Smirnov went to the shooter and his personal coach, shook hands and had a light conversation before asking Verma to return to the firing point. With time being lost, Vema was left with less than 10 minutes on the clock during his first shot of the final series. Eventually, he finished with a score of 576 and failed to go past the first qualification relay.
Speaking to the newspaper, Smirnov said: “It’s the mistake of the range official, the athlete and the man who called him. He (official) should not have called Abhishek at the request of an unaccredited person sitting in the stands, it could be the mother, sister, or anybody else.”
He added that the interference built pressure on the shooter. “It cost us precious time, built more pressure on him (Verma),” he said.
Meanwhile, Saurabh Chaudhary qualified for the 10m Air Pistol final while Manu Bhaker made it to the 25m Women pistol final on Sunday.
