‘They have the hunger to excel’

National shooting coach since 1993, Prof Sunny Thomas has seen Avneet Kaur Sidhu and Sanjeev Rajput from their early days. He feels both, with a little stroke of luck, can go all the way to the podium at the Beijing Olympics. He spoke to The Indian Express. Excerpts:

How do you look at the rise of Avneet and Sanjeev?
It’s phenomenal. Not easy. One needs to have tremendous dedication to reach Olympics. And to attain it so soon is really commendable. It speaks a lot about their character. They have a clear goal in their mind. Without an urge to do well, one cannot achieve so much. They have the hunger to excel.

Can you identify their strong points?
Avneet is very dedicated. She can control her nerves. At Melbourne Commonwealth Games, there was criticism that she was selected despite her lack of experience. But she proved her worth, along with Tejaswini Sawant. She shot very well there to win individual silver and a team gold. She didn’t have a very good 2007. So we hope she peaks at the right time. She herself will be eager to do well more than anyone else. Sanjeev is calm, ideal for shooting. Also, he can shoot well in all three positions.

Did you expect them to get quotas for India?
Definitely. Since Melbourne, we knew Avneet could do it. Sanjeev also had been shooting well. So we were expecting them to qualify.

Can they win medals at the Olympics?
They are capable of it. The fact that they reached this far shows that they have it in them. On a given day, they can beat anyone. They just have to control their minds on that day. Those who qualify for the finals are equally talented. It’s anybody’s game from there.