Shooting association ends contracts of all 24 national coaches

Four months after the Olympic debacle, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has decided to end the contracts of all the 24 national coaches that were involved with the Indian shooting team. The sporting body took the decision in a bid to revamp the structure before the start of the 2022 season.
However, the NRAI, while looking to hire new coaching staff, will also review the role of the shooters as well.

“Whatever we have learnt from the past, specifically the Tokyo Olympics, we felt there are some blanks that need to be filled. We have to look at other parameters as to where we failed and then provide our shooters what’s needed to achieve excellence,” said NRAI secretary general Kanwar Sultan Singh to this paper.

“We have our expert committee, we’ll look into it, we’ll asses it. The ones that are fit enough (will be taken again) and the ones that don’t fit the bill will go – be it shooter or coach. We’re in the process of finalising who requires what, when, where. The entire parameters will be looked into, it’s not just the domain of coaches.”

At the Olympics, the Indian team had been hyped as medal-contenders across different events. There were 20 possible medals in the offing for the Indian team, but only Saurabh Chaudhary, in the 10m men’s air pistol event, managed to reach the final of his discipline. It was in Tokyo – while the shooting events were still on – when NRAI president Raninder Singh first spoke of an ‘overhaul’ of the team.

“We are going to see an overhaul of the Indian coaching staff for sure,” he said at the time. “Everybody will be evaluated. Even I will be evaluated as president of the NRAI. No one is indispensable.”
Raninder was later re-elected to his post.