Asher Noria is a future Olympic champion, says foreign coach
October 2nd, 2010 - 8:17 pm ICT by IANSBy Abhishek Roy
New Delhi, Oct 2 (IANS) Italian trainer Marcello Dradi feels teenage shooter Asher Noria, a junior world champion, has the potential to fill the shoes of Athens Olympics silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
Dradi has trained some of the finest shotgun shooters in the country, on and off since 1996, like former world champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu and Rathore and tipped Asher to be the next big thing in Indian shooting.
Dradi, a former Britain coach, told IANS that at 19 years only, Asher has shown the maturity of a top class shotgun shooter.
“I have been training with the Indian shooters and I feel youngsters like Asher have the potential to take the sport forward in the country. At 19 years he has matured as a top double trap shooter. It takes some time for shooters to mature, but Noria has done it at a young age. He has to just carry it forward,” said Dradi.
Asher, a first year student of mechanical engineering at the Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, became the third Indian shooter after Jaspal Rana (1994) and Navnath Farthade (2006) to win a gold in the world championship in the junior category in Munich in August.
Dradi also had words of praise for world No.3 double trap shooter Ronjan Singh Sodhi.
“Ronjan has consistently shot well in the last couple of years and if he continues in this way, he can surely win a medal for India at the London Olympics. The best thing about Ronjan is the way he approaches his event. He is cool and calm. In fact, Ronjan is the perfect role model for young shooters,” he said.
Dradi hoped that Indian shooters will win a bagful of medals at the Commonwealth Games, but pointed out that the presence of Australian duo Michael Diamond and Adam Vella in the trap event will make it an exciting contest for Manavjit and Mansher Singh.
World no.8 Diamond is a two-time Olympic champion (1996, 2000), while world no.5 Vella is 2004 Athens Games silver medallist.
“Vella and Diamond are world class shooters. Diamond has been winning this season. But Mansher and Manvajit are also quality shooters,” he said.
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- Junior world champion Noria replaces Rathore in CWG shooting squad - Sep 01, 2010
- CWG shooting: Manavjit, Mansher trap silver - Oct 08, 2010
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- Indian shooters aim to cross Melbourne medal tally - Sep 12, 2010
- CWG shooting: India win gold, silver and bronze (Roundup) - Oct 10, 2010
- No place for Rathore; Joydeep, Heena selected for London Olympics - Feb 19, 2012
- CWG shooting: Noria, Sodhi win double trap silver - Oct 06, 2010
- CWG shooting: Indians continue to dominate at Karni Singh Range (Night Intro) - Oct 08, 2010
- CWG silver lining: Increased funding for Indian sport (Year after CWG) - Sep 29, 2011
- 22 athletes get Rs.6.85 crore to train for London Olympics - Sep 13, 2011
- India's London-bound shooters rue delay in government funding - Mar 31, 2012
- Olympic dreams over for Rathore and Anjali (Lead) - Jan 14, 2012
Tags: adam vella, athens games, athens olympics, australian duo, commonwealth games, double trap, georgia tech university, jaspal rana, junior category, junior world champion, london olympics, michael diamond, noria, olympic champion, rajyavardhan singh rathore, shotgun shooters, silver medallist, singh sandhu, sodhi, trap shooter