Two weeks after becoming T&T’s first ever Pan American medallist in the sport of shooting, First Citizens Sports Foundation Sportsman of the Year Roger Daniel, is setting his sights on climbing the podium at the Olympics Games in London next year. The Defence Force corporal has enjoyed the form of his life in recent times, claiming a silver and bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, a gold and bronze at the 2010 CAC Games in Puerto Rico, two golds at the Hell Open in Norway in January and two golds at the Canadian Air Gun Grand Prix in February. His latest accomplishment, a silver in the Men’s Air Pistol 10m at the ongoing Pan Ams in Mexico, has motivated him to continue striving. “A lot of work and sacrifice went into this and it’s paid off… It’s a historic moment for the sport in T&T,” he told the Guardian recently. “The feedback has been tremendous. You could see the expression on people’s faces when I came back with the medal. It was so uplifting. The soldiers would come up to me and say that I had made them proud to be a soldier. I never thought that this could have such an effect on people.”
With just nine months left to go until the London Games, Daniel feels that his lifelong dreams are finally within his grasp. “It’s getting closer and closer to the Olympics and I’m getting better and better. It is my time and I know I can medal. I’ve done it in events around the world and this is the ultimate one that I want to go for… It’s not just the Olympics but the journey towards the Olympics,” he said, adding, “Some of my Pan Am opponents were world champions that I will be meeting in London and I’m confident I can go there and beat them again.” Daniel, 41, has already been to the quadrennial Games twice, placing 27th in the Air Pistol 60m in Athens in 2004 and 36th in the same event in Beijing in 2008. “I have a greater understanding of what is needed at that level now. That’s why I feel that I will do greater.
Having those past two experiences, I got to see what it was like. The second time I felt like I could have done it, but I just did not have enough experience at that level. Now I have the confidence and the knowledge to do it.” In order to compete against the best in the world, he says he will have to prepare himself by training abroad since the facilities in T&T are yet to come up to an international standard. “The Olympics uses an electronic system. We can’t be using paper targets here and having to walk down the range to pick them up and then walk back. These are things of the past and its time that we get electronic systems in place.”
Source: www.guardian.co.tt