The 29-year-old was perceived as a medal prospect for the Oct. 3-14 Delhi Games but lost out in the race for a place in India's shooting squad following a poor performance at the June trial in Pune. "I was staying in the camp hostel in Pune where a rat bit me in the night," Rajput said on Friday. "I did not take any chances and immediately visited the doctor. He gave me anti-rabies shots and soon I was running a high fever.

"I was just not at my best and shot 1155 and 1149, both of which were below-par. It brought down my averages," added the disappointed shooter. Rajput's request to consider his score in the subsequent world championships was turned down by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), which follows a selection policy where averages are calculated before determining the squad.

Rajput's omission might not be the only impact of rats on the Games as organizers are waging a war against the rodents, a common pest in the city. A 90-strong team of vets, armed with 600 traps and 100kg of rat poison, has been assigned the job of removing the rats from the Commonwealth Games venues by mid-September.