Sandhu says India must learn from China

Dubai: Shooting ace Manavjeet Singh Sandhu says India must emulate China's performance at the Beijing Olympics and win big when the nation hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

Indian shooters have done well consistently on the international stage, with Abhinav Bindra being the latest to return home with glory after his gold medal-winning exploits in the 10-metre air rifle event at the Beijing Games.

Trap shooter Sandhu, too, has done the nation proud on many accounts, winning gold at the last ISSF World Cup and the Commonwealth Games.

He was subsequently awarded two of India's highest sports awards, the Arjuna Award and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, which recognise the achievements of the nation's top sportsmen and women.

But Sandhu dreams of more and as 2010 approaches, the 31-year-old says he is training his sights on defending his Commonwealth crown and wants his compatriots to help India finish at the top in their home games.

"The Commonwealth Games are a very prestigious event and the Indian government is pumping in a lot of money on building up the nation's sporting infrastructure to make sure the games are a success. So, the onus is now on us athletes to make sure we perform well and win a large amount of medals," said Sandhu, who was in Dubai en route to Italy, where he has been training since 1995.

"We must do what the Chinese did. China made a name for itself not just by hosting the Olympics, but mainly by doing well at the Games. We're keen to win medals for India and right now all of us are gearing up towards the 2010 Commonwealth Games. After that we have the 2010 Asian Games and I have my World Championship title to defend in 2010 as well."

The times ahead seem to be filled with excitement for the Punjab-native, who seems to have put his disappointing 10th place finish in Beijing behind him.

"I was part of the Indian contingent at the Olympics, but my performance wasn't very good for a defending world champion. I've forgotten about that now, which is important. Obviously, the Olympics are the crowning achievement for every sport and I've won practically every medal there is to win, so it would be nice to win there over the next few years."