Nov. 21: It was a super Sunday for city shooter Asher Noria as he teamed up with Ronjan Sodhi and Vikram Bhatnagar to win bronze in the men’s double trap team event at the Asian Games in Guangzhou.
The Chinese won the gold while Kuwait clinched the silver. “I am happy to have contributed to India’s medals tally. It would have been great if I had bagged a gold or silver but a medal is a medal,” said Asher told this newspaper.
On the team’s performance on Sunday, the Hyderabadi said, “We started off well and continued our good form. It was raining and I missed out on a few of my targets. But, both Ronjan and Vikram supported me immensely and I am very thankful for that.”
Asher turned 18 on Saturday but did not have the time to celebrate his birthday owing to a packed schedule. However, the Chinese played the ‘Happy Birthday’ song during the presentation ceremony, and even gave him a bouquet and a gift. “It was a very sweet gesture. The officials came to me and wished me too,” noted Asher.
National coach Sunny Thomas was all praise for the young gun. “I am 100 per cent sure that Asher is our future Olympic champion. He is an exceptional talent,” Sunny said.
His teammate in the event, Ronjan Sodhi, too applauded the youngster’s skills. “He handles the big-tournament pressures well. To be able to do so at such an young age is what separates Asher from the rest. He has had a great run and I am sure India will see many more medals from him in the future,” Ronjan said.
On his part, Asher said, “I am pleased that the coach and Ronjan are keeping faith in me. It is important to control your nerves during any tournament and that’s where I have been concentrating. I want to keep performing and would be very happy to shoot at the 2012 Olympics alongside Ronjan.”
Ronjan termed his golden run in the individual double trap event, “Very relieved and extremely satisfying.” Speaking about the final round, Ronjan said, “It is always difficult because the pressure reaches its peak in the finals. Fortunately, I did well. The weather conditions were difficult and many of the shooters were missing their targets.”
Asked to pick his best performance of the year, Ronjan chose the gold he won in the ISSF World Cup finals in Izmir, Turkey. “I cherish all my medals but if you ask me to pick one, it would have to be the gold at the World Cup finals in Turkey,” said the Arjuna Awardee.