Lufthansa had lost his luggage containing his Perazzi gun. Rathore had boarded the flight at Cairo to reach Delhi via Frankfurt.
NEW DELHI: Home-coming turned rather sour for India’s shooting ace Rajyavardhan Rathore, who won the gold medal in the men’s double trap event at the World Cup in Cairo on Sunday to earn a berth for 2008 Olympics.
India’s only Olympic silver medalist was in for a shock after his arrival at New Delhi’s IGI Airport on Thursday morning. Lufthansa had lost his luggage containing his Perazzi gun. Rathore had boarded the flight at Cairo to reach Delhi via Frankfurt.
He lodged a complaint with the airlines company which has not been able to trace the gun so far. “They haven’t been able to trace it but they said they are still trying,” Rathore told DNA. It was a new imported gun that Rathore was trying to get used to, post-Athens triumph, to prepare for the 2008 Olympics. It takes four months time to manufacture the gun meant for double trap shooting and shooters need even longer time than that to familiarise themselves with the weapon.
Rathore’s World Cup gold in Cairo gave him automatic qualification for the next Olympics but now he urgently needs a new gun to start his preparation for the Games. It certainly jeopardises his participation for the next World Cup, in Germany from June 11. But Rathore told DNA that he has already initiated the process of acquiring a new gun. “I have informed the manufacturers in Italy to start making a new one for me. Thankfully, the manufacturer has two guns with same specifications in store,” Rathore said.
The task then would be to get clearance for the import of the gun which costs about Rs. 4 lakh. “Getting the import license involves three-four ministries and it takes about a month. But if the Government expedites the process, it can be done in a week,” Rathore said. “I came from Cairo to take a break, and I don’t have the time to run around.” By evening, the tough armyman was back to train at the gym.
Ten days ago, another Indian trap shooter, Ronjan Birendeep Sodhi had lost his gun on Lufthansa and there’s still no sign of it after so many days. “Even he has been waiting. So it makes us more apprehensive of getting it back,” said Rathore. The airlines, meanwhile, said the process of locating the misplaced ‘baggage’ was on.
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