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Gagan disappointed, hopes for better results ahead

August 24, 2004 14:12 IST

Shooter Gagan Narang, who failed to qualify for the Olympics final, will try to put the disappointment behind and aim for a better show in the days ahead.

The world no 13, who missed qualification for the final of 10 metre air rifle by a whisker, told PTI in Hyderabad on Tuesday that he was disappointed by his show but would chart a fresh course for himself soon.

The 22-year-old, the youngest Indian shooter in fray in Athens who shot into prominence in the National Games by winning the gold, said it was just bad luck, which saw him, miss the final.

"I was under a lot of pressure and I believe that I handled the situation well. It was sheer bad luck that I missed out the chance to qualify for the finals," Gagan, who works for Indian Airlines, said on his return.

"It was a good experience for me to be part of the Indian contingent in the Olympics but I am very disappointed with the outcome," he said.

The youngster, who took up the sport in a casual manner during his outings at the Marina beach in his birthplace Chennai, spoke with pride about double trap shooter Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore who won the country's first ever-individual silver medal in Olympics since independence.

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"It was great that he won the medal for our country. We were staying in the same apartment for the Games. There are no words to describe his performance. It's a very commendable effort," Narang said.

But Gagan accepted that overall the shooters needed to work on their performance.

"Our performance was not that good and we need to improve.

"The preparation was good and we reached Athens ten days ahead of the actual event to acclimatise, but we did not get into the winning mode," said the shooter.

Narang, who first held the air rifle to shoot balloons at the Marina beach for fun, turned into a professional to represent India in the World Cup which paved the way for his Olympic journey.

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