Indian shooters will be looking for a slice of luck when they launch their medal quest in the Olympic shooting event in Athens on Saturday.
Four of them are in the fray on the opening day of competition at the Markopoulu Olympic Shooting range.
While ace shooter Anjali Bhagwat and Suma Shirur will battle for glory in the women's 10-metre rifle event, while Mansher Singh and Manavjit Singh Sandhu will feature in the men's trap event.
Sandhu finished with 120 in the qualification round while Mansher managed 121. The duo will have to put up an improved display on the first day of their event to be able to match their fancied opponents from France, Italy, Russia and Germany.
Coach Sunny Thomas has his fingers crossed and is not willing to predict much about India's showing at the shooting ranges.
"It is difficult to predict anything. Our shooters have prepared well and we will have to wait and see how things go," he said.
"There are more than ten shooters who have reached 397 or more in the qualifications of the 10 metes air rifle event, so anything can happen. All I can say is that we will try our best," he added.
Thomas is also not very keen to allow the shooters to interact with the media in a bid to keep them focused ahead of the events.
The Indians had a practice session on Friday morning and all seemed to be in good nick.
Indian hopes of a medal on the opening day will rest largely on Anjali and Suma Shirur, who scored a perfect 400 to equal the world record in the Asian shooting championship in Malaysia in February.
Khel Ratna recipient Anjali became the first Indian to qualify for the Games when she achieved the feat in May 2002, in Atlanta but she would have to put up one of her best performances to make it to the medal podium.
Anjali won two gold medals in the World Cup finals in Milan and World Cup in Fort Benning, USA, last year. Her best performance this year was a bronze in the Sydney World Cup in the Three-Position.
The final of the men's trap event will be held on Sunday.
The other shooters, Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang (men's 10m air rifle), will be seen in action on August 16 while ex-Army major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who is seen as a medal prospect in the men's double trap event, has his event on August 17.
