India trap shooting coach Wilson keeps his clothes on despite pledge

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept 30 - India trap shooting coach Peter Wilson is no stranger to wild pledges, but the Briton drew the line at his latest — promising to run naked in the rain if one of his shooters won a medal at the Asian Games.

A former Olympic gold medallist, Wilson broke his umbrella in wild celebration after Neeru Dhanda won the women's trap gold on Tuesday.

It was not what he had promised though, and Wilson later said his pledge was just to ease any pressure on the shooters.

"I did joke that I'd run naked through the rain if we won a medal here," Wilson said. "But maybe not."

The 40-year-old had previously shaved his head when Zoravar Singh Sandhu won bronze at the 2025 World Championships in Athens, ending India's 20-year medal drought in the event.

"Going into the worlds I could feel the tension. It is a young group and I wanted to take their minds off the enormity of the situation," Wilson said.

"I was trying to break the ice. We were in a training camp in Cyprus and just before we left for Greece I joked, 'Anyone wins a medal, I'll shave my hair off'.

"They said, 'fully off' and I said, 'Yeah, fully off, bald'.

"Now, I've been doing this for 20 years as shooter or coach and for the first time in my life I arrived at the range in Greece and there was a mobile barber. They all thought it was God's work, a sign. Maybe it was. It was crazy."

Dhanda's victory is further vindication of Wilson's appointment as India builds toward the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

"Since 2012, rifle and pistol have taken the limelight and shotgun has languished to a degree and I guess that's why I'm here, to try and change that," Wilson said.

"You have to work back. From Olympic golds, if you want to compete and win you have got to be top five or 10 in the world. But before that you need a quota place and without one of those Charlie and the Chocolate Factory golden tickets, you're not going to the Games.

"But to win a quota place you need to be medalling at World Cups." REUTERS