Trials and break before shooters target Tokyo
NEW DELHI: It was a rather hectic 2019 for Indian shooters who competed in four World Cups, Asian Championships and the national selection trials—seven—besides the national championships, first to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and then stay ahead of the intense competition at home to keep their place in the team.
With no international competitions or training camps scheduled now due to the novel coronavirus, the window has provided a much-needed break for the shooters. The shooters will go back home and practice at ranges nearby while coaches try to draw up an alternate training plan that will ensure their Olympic preparation does not suffer.
Even now, with hardly any sport being played across the globe, India’s top shooters (World Cup squad) are appearing for selection trials at the Karni Singh Shooting range here, which will end on Thursday. The World Cup in New Delhi, scheduled to be held this month but put off to May, was part of the selection process for the Olympics. As it was postponed, the National Rifle Association of India decided to hold these trials to firm up the Olympics squad.
“As of now there is no clarity when we will officially start a camp, but we plan to work in isolation,” said national pistol coach Jaspal Rana.
“The shooters will have a short break and will start with low intensity training. In case we are using the Karni Singh ranges, we have to inform the federation and SAI for permission. Otherwise, we plan to go to some remote area near Mussoorie and book one that has a banquet hall for 10m air weapon training for some days before things get normal,” said Rana, who is overseeing the training of three pistol shooters, Manu Bhaker, Abhishek Verma and Bhopal’s Chinki Yadav.
NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia said after the trials, there will be no camp as all training venues have been shut by the government till March 31. “If shooters want to train, they can do it in their home range.”
The government though has exempted athletes headed for the Games. “We have proposed a camp for the Olympic-bound squad from April 1 to 15, but it is uncertain at the moment,” he added.
Indian shooters have won 15 quota places for Tokyo and the challenge for the coaches will be to keep them in good shape during the break.
“Nothing is happening as per original plan, so the whole training plan has to be revamped to keep the Olympic squad in good mental and physical condition to perform at the optimum level at the Olympics,” said pistol coach Samaresh Jung.
The shooting test event in Tokyo scheduled for April has been cancelled.
“The Olympic hopefuls were also scheduled to have a short camp in South Korea ahead of the Olympics, but even that will not happen under the given circumstances,” Jung said. “All the countries have sealed their borders and the government has advised us not to travel till April 15.”
Rifle coach Shuma Shirur said the small break will help but the shooters can’t afford their focus to waver.
“The international schedule is always hectic and we have to be ready, prepared. Now this is new. There is a lockdown, but we have to prepare for the Olympics keeping in mind different scenarios. We will definitely come up with a plan so that we can prepare without putting our shooters at risk. The little break in schedule will be good. It has been a stressful time and it is important for the body to recover,” she added.
Young star Manu Bhaker will continue her training at the Universal School at Goria, in Haryana’s Jhajhar, where she learnt the sport. “It is not a break from shooting but a break from the hectic schedule we follow. It will help us rejuvenate,” she said.
Deepak Arya, who won a quota spot in 10m air rifle, also called it a deserving break from hectic training. “I have plans to go to gurukul in Dehradun for 10 days to meditate,” he said.
Once the trials are over, NRAI’S selection committee will finalise who should be awarded the Olympic spots. As per the international shooting sport federation, ISSF, quota spots earned from various qualification competitions is for the country and not individual. Selectors usually pick the shooter who earned the spot, but on occasions take a call based on form, experience and past performances in top competitions.