Right through the road to qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Indian shooting has witnessed seasoned stars renew their quest for another shot at Olympic glory, and new names step up in an attempt to create a niche on the global stage.
With the Olympic Games less than a month away, the shooters are gearing up for their biggest test in recent times, and if the contingent can reap a rich haul of medals, the national coaches, sports NGOs associated with the sport, and federation officials will waste little time in taking credit for the shooters’ achievements.
Basking in borrowed glory isn’t new in Indian sport, and shooting is no different. The reason isn’t tough to understand. Coaches associated with national camps are recipients of major financial rewards after a rich haul in a big international event as the sports ministry awards not just the athletes who win medals but also the coaches.
The scene is changing with the shooters now a much better managed lot, but a lot of ground still needs to be covered as far as credit being given where it is due.
It is here that the silent work of personal coaches comes into focus. Unsung most of the time, Indian shooting abounds with behind-the-scenes stories of toil.
Manu Bhaker, Anish Bhanwala and Sandeep Singh, to name a few, are not the result of a couple of national camps. They have been shaped into world beaters after years of toil by their personal coaches as well to reach this level.
Personal coaches like Jaspal Rana, Deepali Deshpande and Joydeep Karmakar competed at the highest level and brought laurels for the country before shifting to roles at the national level. Being accustomed to the spotlight all through, taking a backseat at this juncture isn’t tough for them.
Deepali works with Swapnil Kusale, Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil and Arjun Babuta, Joydeep’s ward is Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, and Jaspal has been training Manu.
Moving away from these high-profile names, there are those who have worked with their Olympic-bound wards away from the spotlight and their anonymity makes it easy for them to be sidelined in the hour of glory.
Satyendra Singh, Harpreet Singh, Abhishek Rana and Vinit Kumar Koslia are a few names, but there are many others who keep working hard unmindful of the prospective gains or how unfair the sporting ecosystem can be.
Given Sandeep Singh’s rapid rise in men’s 10m air rifle, personal coach Satendra Singh’s efforts come to the fore in sculpting a late bloomer into a potential medal winner in Paris. Sandeep surprised everyone by making the Indian team after topping the Olympic selection trials.
Anish Bhanwala has won multiple medals for the country in men’s 25m rapid fire pistol, and a chunk of the credit goes to his personal coach Harpreet.
Sarabjot Singh, who won gold in men’s 10m air pistol at the ISSF Munich World Cup in June, is coached by Abhishek, and Vinit is the man behind the success of Rhythm Sangwan, who holds the world record in women’s 25m pistol.
NRAI’s High-Performance Director, Pierre Beauchamp, two-time Olympic medallist Munkhbayar Dorjsuren, the national foreign coach for pistol events, and Thomas Farnik, the team’s foreign coach for rifle events, along with the national coaches are overseeing the Indian team’s preparations for Paris, but it isn’t just about them.
It is a collective effort of these experts in the national camp and the shooters’ personal coaches to ensure the shooters peak at the right time going into the Olympics.