Indian shooting coach up against own father

Three-time Olympian Anjali Bhagwat, Tejaswini Sawant, Ashok Pandit and Ronak Pandit will be the star attractions at the shooting range in the Maharashtra State Olympic Games on Tuesday (January 3).

As many as 207 top shooters of the state (124 men and 83 women) will compete in rifle and pistol competitions at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.

Several young pistol shooters, including Abhidnya Patil, Juili Dhopadkar, Anushka Patil, Shital Desai, Harshada Nitve and Pranjali Dhumal will hope to make a mark with their preferred guns.

The keenest battle may well be between Ashok Pandit and his son Ronak. There are a number of national-level players too in rifle-shooting, which promises to make the competition intense.

Meanwhile, wrestling, which also begins on Tuesday, promises to be a star-studded affair. A number of national athletes, including Nandini Salokhe (former national champion), Swati Shinde, Shailesh Shelke, Jyotiba Atkale, Mahendra Gaikwad (silver medallist in the World Junior Championship) and Kiran Bhagat will take to the mat, hoping for gold and glory.

As many as 240 wrestlers are registered to participate.

Other prominent names include Vishwajit More, Onkar Patil, Praveen Patil, Pritam Khot, Bharat Patil, Saurabh Patil, Bapu Kolekar and Suraj Aswale.

Arjuna awardee Kaka Pawar is excited that Maharashtra Olympics are finally taking place. "The wrestlers will gain a lot by competing against the best in the state. The experience will come in handy for upcoming national sports events," he said.

As a precursor to the Games, the Maharashtra State Kushti Parishad organized a refresher class for referees here on Monday which saw close to 100 in attendance.