Though not unexpected, the National Rifle Association of India’s (NRAI) decision to ignore the personal coaches of the Paris Olympic medallists at its recent felicitation ceremony in Delhi has raised eyebrows nonetheless.
The occasion was in honour of the three bronze winners, Manu Bhaker (double medallist), Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh, and the national coaches, but it would have been appropriate had the NRAI also acknowledged the shooters’ personal coaches Jaspal Rana, Deepali Deshpande and Abhishek Rana.
Of course, the role of Pierre Beauchamp, the high-performance director, Thomas Farnik, foreign rifle coach, Munkhbyar Dorjsuren, foreign pistol coach, Samaresh Jung, national pistol coach (10 Meter), Manoj Kumar, national rifle coach (50 Meter), can in no way be undermined, but Jaspal, Deepali and Abhishek played an equal role in charting the three shooters’ success.
The move to underplay the trio’s contribution has not gone down well. Deepali’s hand in leading Swapnil to the 50m Rifle Three Positions bronze is well documented, and the NRAI snub had her take to social media. She tweeted, “I know our contribution to these medals won’t be acknowledged, but rewards to others was also not a surprise.”
Jaspal would also be feeling let down, especially in light of his journey with Manu. Jaspal bore the brunt after Manu’s disappointing show at the Tokyo Olympics and was a factor in the two parting ways on the shooting range.
It is to their credit that they sank the differences and teamed up once more for the Paris Olympics, and the hard work reflected in Manu’s unprecedented double bronze in women’s 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team.
Abhishek, Sarabjot’s coach through thick and thin for a considerable period, got the worse treatment as he wasn’t even invited for the felicitation ceremony.
A dejected Abhishek told indianshooting.com, “I did what I considered was my duty, I have no expectations.”
Lavishing the athletes and national coaches with praise and hefty prize money isn’t out of the ordinary, but the NRAI could have set a precedent by at least acknowledging the efforts of Jaspal, Deepali and Abhishek.