New Delhi:
Absence of star athletes like Usain Bolt and Stephani Rice would not take the sheen away from the Delhi Commonwealth Games, feels Australia's champion shooter and Olympic medallist Russell Mark.
"No athlete is bigger than the Games, not even Bolt," Mark said.
The Australian is all praise for India's Ronjon Singh Sodhi, who has been training under him for a while now. Mark had earlier trained Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore before the Athens Olympics in which the Indian won a silver.
"He (Sodhi) is one of the most improved shooters if you look at the last four years. He still has his best years ahead of him and will be a tough person to beat in this year's Commonwealth Games and the London Olympics (2012)," Mark said from Australia.
Mark won gold in double trap at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and managed a silver medal in the Sydney Olympics four years later. He also won a gold medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.
The Australian, who last visited the country during the Commonwealth Shooting Championship at the Karni Singh Shooting Range here in March, said he does not mind coming to India for the Games and has also rubbished concerns about security measures during the extravaganza.
"The security for the Commonwealth Games test event in March was very strict and that did cause us some concern. We have not been told officially of any security problems from our team management, so I'm assuming the Indian authorities have taken care of things," he said.
Provided he gets an offer in future, would he like to become the national coach of the Indian shooting team, "Yes, I would take the job on a part-time basis.
I know I will be able to help them and, with the amount of talent the team has, I believe they should dominate the double trap events for the next five to eight years."
Asked about his preparation for the upcoming Games and his biggest challengers, Mark said, "Preparations are going well with one more major event -- the World Cup final in Turkey -- before the CWG. The Indians and the English shooters as well as Tim Neale from the Isle of Man are good. But I think Sodhi will start as the favourite."
The experienced shooter has been juggling between training and coaching for years now and he admitted that it's hard to manage both at the same time. "But it has its positive point because I learn different things from these shooters," he pointed out.
Asked about his future plans, the 46-year-old shooter said, "I will end my international career at the 2014 Commonwealth games aged 50."
The Australian also felt that controversies surrounding the Games will have no bearing on the athletes' performances.
"I don't think athletes get involved in any political controversies. If they do they will not win," he said.
Mark's advice to young shooters is "watch the techniques of the better shooters and learn from them. Learn solid foundations and set realistic goals every month to improve".
Asked about Rathore, he said, "I don't know who is coaching him now, but I'm sure with his experience he may not need a coach now. I haven't spoken to him about his future goals, but without them it would be hard for him to succeed again."