Ronjan Sodhi, the World Number shooter, justified his climb to the top after he successfully defended his ISSF Shotgun World Cup title held in Al Ain (UAE) last month. He has been in sublime form and is one of the prospective individual medal winner at the 2012 London Olympics.

In an interview to Samikshan Dutta Choudhury of Indian Sports News, Ronjan speaks about his title defense, Olympics and Indian Shooting. Excerpts:

ISN: Congratulations on your successful title defense. What do you have to say about it?

Ronjan: Thanks a lot. It is always good to defend titles. I have been shooting well throughout the year and it is a very good thing to end the year before the Olympics on such a high note. It is such a great plus and gives me a lot of positive vibes.

ISN: The whole country is seeing you as a prospective medal winner in the Olympics. Does that put any sort of pressure on you?

Ronjan: No not really. I would say more than anything else it makes me more responsible. I do not take any undue pressure. People believe in me and every time I take part in any competition, I just want to sustain their faith in me.

ISN: So how are your preparations going on for the Olympics?

Ronjan: Well I am sticking to the same game plan, same guns everything same. As I said earlier I am not taking any pressure and counting on the positives that I could earn during the year. I am playing few tournaments before the Olympics and also would be practicing in Italy. It is very important to keep shooting before the Olympics.

ISN: What is your say on the current Indian shooting scenario?

Ronjan: I would say excellent. We have already have nine shooters who have won the quota places for the Olympics and another 4-5 shooters would for sure qualify for it.15 shooters representing a country is enough to show the depth of the sport in the country. We are at all time high.

ISN: How much do you fancy India’s chances of winning a medal at the Olympics?

Ronjan: Well it’s better than ever. With so many shooters representing the country, we have a very good chance.

ISN: How do you think the sport is being run in India?

Ronjan: Well NRAI, the apex body of shooting in India is doing great to promote the sports in India. They are organizing more and more camps and it is helping the cause of shooting in India a lot. They are running the sports very professionally in India.

ISN: India just won the rights to the 2nd Asian Shotgun Shooting Championship in 2012. How do you think would these kinds of events help Indian shooting cause?

Ronjan: It is always good to have events of this magnitude in India. It is going to take place in Patiala and they have lovely facility out there. It would do the sport in India a world of good. But then it should not be one off vent and India should try hosting more and more events like this.

ISN: Lot of players in the recent past was found using banned substances. How do you keep yourself away from these things?

Ronjan: No players take these substances willingly. Players are not aware of it and they are fooled into all these. And as for me, I am on the WADA list. I have to constantly update them about my whereabouts and also before taking any substance I consult a lot of people to find out if they are ethical or not.

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