Feud raged in shooting camp in Tokyo run-up
They went to Tokyo 2020 heralded as India’s brightest medal prospects. On Tuesday, after India’s air rifle and air pistol shooters ended their campaign not just without a medal, but also with only one out of eight shooters in six events managing to enter a final, the lid blew off a controversy over fractious player-coach relationships within the shooting squad.
“We are going to see an overhaul of Indian coaching staff, for sure. We are no longer going to be held at ransom,” National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president, Raninder Singh, said immediately after the 10m air pistol mixed pair event, where teenagers Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhury exited in the qualifying stage.
A few hours later Divyansh Panwar and Elavenil Valarivan bowed out in the qualifying round of the 10m air rifle mixed pair.
“There was only one person
who was a negative factor in the whole thing, and I’m calling it out right now, it was Jaspal Rana,” said Singh, referring to the fourtime Asian Games gold medallist who is now one of the pistol coaches for India’s elite shooters.
“But this performance is not Rana’s fault,” Singh said.
Though Rana was with the Indian Olympic shooting contingent for a two-month preparatory camp in Osijek, Croatia, he has not travelled to Tokyo.
According to Singh, the problems began during the ISSF shooting World Cup in New Delhi in March, when Rana and Bhaker had a falling out.
“Both sides were not willing to work because of various instances they cited,” Raninder said.