‘If we aren’t winning medals in Olympics, time to tweak system’
NEWDELHI: Former international trap shooter Mansher Singh has taken over as national coach for shotgun events. He joins up at a time when the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) is under tremendous pressure to deliver. After a dismal performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics – for the first time in four Games, India didn’t win a shooting medal – the team is gearing up for major international events, including the Commonwealth Games (April) and Asian Games (August-september). With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualification rounds also on this year, the task is cut out for the new coach. In an interview, the four-time Olympian spells out his result-oriented programme.
Excerpts: big event. We are preparing data on the correlation between training abroad before a big match and overall performance of an individual. The system that is more productive will be followed.
After winning double trap silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics (RVS Rathore), national team members have returned emptyhanded in three successive Olympics. The system is as good as the end result. If we are not winning medals in Olympics or World Championships on a regular basis, it’s time to make some adjustments. Also, since the 2006 World Championships in Zagreb, the top shooters haven’t tasted success. All this hints that fine-tuning is a must. It is not for me to comment on foreign coaches, it’s the role of the federation to evaluate and file annual report on that, but everyone associated with the national team should be accountable. Without that there will be no progress. I believe there should be more coordination between Indian and foreign coaches. For example, in the absence of Marcelo Dradi (Italian shotgun expert), he has been there with the national team for over a decade, there should be continuation in the training programme for consistent performance. There will be no clash of interest. I have briefed the federation and government on my commitments and it has been agreed in principle. If am not travelling with the national team, I will visit the Bhopal shotgun academy for a week once in 30 days. The project is to scout young talent in the catchment area and shouldn’t be neglected. The four-year Olympic cycle is important. You have enough time to make adjustments and reap the benefits. It’s good. We have M Padmanabhan as high-performance director. Hope things work out.