Change of coaches is a natural evolution in sports: NRAI acting president Deo

Indian shooting contingent is hit with the exit of two foreign shotgun coaches as well that of chief rifle coach Joydeep Karmakar in a year that features World Championships, Asian Games, and Asian Championships. NRAI acting president Kalikesh Singh Deo speaks on these issues, his vision, and the road ahead in this interview.

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Excerpts

You have taken over NRAI in a very crucial year with World Championships, Asian Games, and Asian C'ships lined up. What are your immediate goals?

We expect a big tally both in terms of medals as well as Olympic quotas this year. We have a very elaborate sports science department and an internationally-acclaimed high performance director. The shooters are hungry to do well and NRAI will ensure they keep their best foot forward. Their performances are constantly monitored to help them get better. If you go to any major national championships, we have more than 10,000 to 15,000 applicants coming in and the difference between making the team and missing out is almost the width of a hair.

A couple of foreign coaches in shotgun and chief rifle coach Joydeep Karmakar have quit. Why do you think that's happening?

Yes, changes have happened and I have personally addressed them. Some of these changes have happened by design and some by circumstances. Change of coaches is a natural evolution in sports. This is not the first time foreign coaches have left us. It's happened in the past. Also, there are commercial reasons why people leave teams or move from one country to another. We're not the only country this has happened to; it happens with the best nations.

We did hope that the coaches stayed till the end of the Olympics. But, shooting is also a very individual sport and a lot of our athletes have personal coaches. More than technical, the job of the coach at this level is to provide comfort and emotional security to shooters. Irrespective of the situation, the team is strong.

The exit of coaches wasn't smooth either.

I think if coaches leave or are planning to leave, ethically they should be giving us an advance notice as per the contract. I don't want to get into this kind of conversation because none of it helps the shooting fraternity. When I met the shooters in Bhopal during the trials, my message to them was clear, that they should focus on the shooting. I think it's also not correct for coaches to use shooters either against each other or against the NRAI.

A few coaches do not appear to share the wavelength with HPD Pierre Beauchamp. How big a concern is that?

There is a space for data science and high performance monitoring in modern sports. Some coaches have adapted to it readily while some need a bit of convincing. We have evidence-based performance metrics mapped out for each athlete that helps us identify our core team. The high performance team has to ensure a buy-in from the coaches. The coaches also have to be open-minded and look at the data being presented before passing judgments. The NRAI will ensure that there is a meeting point.

Do you also feel there is an issue of communication between the senior coaches and top management of NRAI considering they have complained about not hearing back from the federation?

When you have an ecosystem of more than 20-25 coaches and more than 20-25 sports science people who deal with 60-70 shooters, there are bound to be some differences of perception. Firstly, the shooters need to trust the ecosystem. Then, you need the sports science team to be part and parcel of the entire program. There has to be more communication. As for the complaints you are talking about, no complaint has gone unaddressed at my level.

Do you feel the shooters' performance will be affected by what's going on?

We need to segregate the happenings behind the scene from the performances. Indian shooting has had one of the best performances in the last one or two years. We did well at the Bhopal World Cup and we already have three quota places, including one in shotgun which is not very common. I am sure what happens with coaches or within NRAI or the senior management doesn't have a direct impact on the performances of our shooters.

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