New Delhi: The National Rifle Association of India, the top body for shooting in the country announced on Friday that it would organise separate funds and training to help shooters transition from the junior to the senior level.
At a press meet organized in the capital with the medallists of the national squad, which recently returned from a successful International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Mexico, Moraad Ali Khan, former shooter and member of the national selection committee spoke about the proposal in discussion and pending approval from appropriate authorities. India finished top of the standings for the first time with nine medals, including four golds.
Moraad stated, “What was happening earlier was when the juniors were moving into seniors there were a large number of shooters who were little uncomfortable transiting. So, for a two-year period we are trying to put them into a separate category and give them all the funding that is required for training and they will be coached by the senior coaches also.
He added, “That would make them comfortable and once they find that they are comfortable the next lot will come in. So it will be a continuous process. As of now it’s 64 shooters but then events keep changing. There will be four shooters per event. This will be functional from next nationals.”
Moraad further shared that the proposal entailed a total of 64 junior shooters, four from each shooting discipline, to be shortlisted for the said programme, with the intention that they continue to receive support and mentorship from the federation for a fixed period even after they move up from the junior ranks, which ceases to be the case once they cross 20 years of age.
Junior coach Jaspal Rana said that the move was very important because there are lot of kids who can’t reach that senior level without support. “For any sportsperson those one-two years can destroy their careers. It’s all about protecting them at this level. They’re just 15-17 and I’m sure they’ll improve,” he said.
When asked about the fact that the 2022 Commonwealth Games would feature shooting as an optional sport, Raninder Singh, president of the NRAI, mentioned that they had written to the ISSF and that the shooting world body would be taking it up with the CWG committee.
The Indian squad for the 2018 CWG will assemble at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi for a national camp on March 20 before they head to Gold Coast. Manu Bhakker, the 16-year-old double gold medalist in Mexico in the women’s 10m Air Pistol and the mixed-team Air Pistol events, will go to Sydney earlier to take part in the Junior World Cup.