S.Kannan in Chateauroux
It was surprising to hear from the ISSF President Luciano Rossi that the decision to hold the shooting competition of Paris 2024 in Chateauroux was a “big mistake.” He then went on to say in 2028 Los Angeles, the events would be held in the main city. As far as India are concerned, to walk away with three medals from these Summer Games is a big thrust to the sport, with Manu Bhaker leading the way.
When asked what would be the impact of India’s shooters winning medals in the Olympics, Rossi stressed it is important. “India is a very big democracy and for shooting as well it is big,” he said. If the boss of the world shooting body feels Indians have done well, then there is no reason to feel bitter or sad. After the lows of the Rio 2016 Olympics, where the best to show was two fourth place finishes from Abhinav Bindra and Jitu Rai, the Tokyo Olympics was no better. A boy named Saurabh Chaudhary who made the final in Tokyo has vanished. And in Paris 2024, 21 Indian shooters making the cut was a big thing, plus so many fourth-place finishes.
In an exclusive interview with RevSportz, pistol coach Munkhbayar Dorjsruen spoke on the importance of how all eight pistol quotas were grabbed by India. Her assignment with India is over. “I leave with good memories in the last three years. India needs to back its shooters,” she said.
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EXCLUSIVE: Indian Pistol team coach Munkhbayar Dorjsuren reflects on the Indian Shooting Team’s inspiring performance at #Paris2024 and expresses optimism about winning more medals at the next #OlympicGames@AgeasFederal @kannandelhi @OfficialNRAI pic.twitter.com/A3ZiEKBc4t
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) August 5, 2024
A loud message that, as many fans back home have been thinking, India should have won half a dozen medals from shooting alone. People seem to have forgotten, after firing blanks in two Olympics, this sleepy town of Chateauroux has been so lucky for India. “Yes, I had a lot of food problems, but I carry back such wonderful memories from these ranges,” said Manu, the most popular name now on social media in India. Her two medals and one fourth place finish have been defining. For many, Manu is the new role model, including rapid fire pistol shooters, Anish Bhanwala and Vijayveer Sidhu.
Yes, the names of Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kushale also ring a bell, both medallists. But the story is also about Arjun Babuta, whose fourth-place finish in air rifle was a case of so near and yet so far. “It is better to finish sixth or seventh,” said Raja Randhir Singh, who is a veteran shooter and is tipped to be the next President of the Olympic Council of Asia. One needs to read the social media posts put out by Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang to absorb the impact made by Indian shooters in Paris 2024.
To be sure, this is just the beginning. When one talks of planning, there is so much more to be done. The National Rifle Association of India can fly back home to their office in New Delhi and pat themselves on the back. To have devised a new selection policy where a series of trials followed by the final OST (Olympic Selection Trials) decided who would make the cut. When the policy had been devised, Abhinav Bindra had told this writer: “If this policy works, people will praise it.” Indeed, that has happened.
Looking ahead, there is no time to be wasted. Even before batting an eyelid, all countries will start hiring coaches for the next Olympic cycle. The next Asian Games will be held in Japan in 2026 and there will be Olympic quota places up for grabs. In addition, there will be important World Cups and World Championships. How to tap the right talent base and who will coach them is a decision which the NRAI alone cannot make, or the Sports Authority of India. The very concept of a national coach has failed and shooters like Manu, Babuta, Sarabjot and Sift Kaur Samra, to name a few need to decide who is best for them. The same goes for skeet shooter Maheshwari Chauhan.
Without going into names to create a stir, it is well known what roles were played by Jaspal Rana, Abhishek Rana and Deepali Deshpande, who have groomed so many rifle shooters. Shooting is an individual sport and a national coach, by definition, does not become the best. At the same time, hiring the right high performance director and foreign coaches is not an easy job. Today, one cannot force down coaches with the Indian shooters. They are mature and want freedom. After all, Col RVS Rathore also had a personal coach and so did Bindra and Narang, all Olympic medallists.
There has to be a paradigm shift and the NRAI cannot force elite shooters to follow just one coach. How the personal coaches got cleared by the Indian Olympic Association and much later the SAI is well known. At the end of the day, if one wants to build on results from what has been achieved in the Paris 2024 Olympics, planning has to be perfect. And, please, do not think personal coaches work for personal gains. For the record, Manu’s coach, Jaspal, has worked without a work contract with Manu.
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