THE West Indies Fullbore Shooting Council Championships begin this week in Barbados with the Guyanese hoping to defend their individual as well as team titles, which they picked up during the last instalment here.

But there is a battle within the war.

Roberto Tewari, who finished one point shy of the 2017 O class champion, Trinidad’s Varma Rambarran, is aiming for one step higher on the podium.

“Before the 150th championship the name Roberto Tewari was unheard of … I was just a rookie shooter trying to fit in. At the end of it, however, everyone knew me by name. I had moved from being a beginner shooter to becoming an X-class shooter, which is the highest rank.

“So obviously there will be a lot of talk about me and surely high expectations but for me it will just be another week in the dirt, doing what I love to do. The end result will speak for itself,” he told Chronicle Sport

“I have accepted that I can only shoot to the best of my ability, so I will try to do the best I can. The only difference in Barbados will be the wind conditions which I hope to get a hang of during our practice session, so that I can be competitive during the individual matches. I have nerves of steel so there’s no need to get nervous. I will just be me and that will be good enough,” he continued.

“I have been getting a lot of tips and advice from my teammates so that has really pushed my preparation up a notch.

“I haven’t set any personal goals. I just want to go out there and do what I’ve been trained to do and if I get selected on the team once again, I will do my best to make my country proud by helping my team defend our titles,” Tewari added.

Speaking on the fact that longtime mentor and fullbore captain Mahendra Persaud would not be there to offer assistance, Tewari added that he is always in his thoughts.

“My captain has always been the driving force behind my commitment to rifle shooting and the discipline I’ve displayed over time. I had wanted to take a break to be able to provide more time for my family and it was he who advised me to keep on pushing and make the sacrifice to take part.

The entire team is deeply affected by his unavoidable absence but it has also renewed our strength and we will be going all out to make him and our country proud … that will bring great happiness to him.”

His other supporters, he noted, are also key in his charge to do Guyana proud.

“There are many persons who come to mind but the ones that played a crucial role in my preparation are my team members, who always pull me up whenever they see me slipping – my mom for always being supportive, my wife for sacrificing every Sunday so I can go shoot, my captain who has assisted me in too many ways to mention, and my main sponsor Mr Rameez Mohammed of BM Soat Auto Sales for always sponsoring me during my events,” he added.

He also gave thanks to all the corporate sponsors who always come on board and to those persons who bought tickets for the GuyanaNRA’s fund-raising raffle.