NRAI assures selection transparency for Tokyo
NEW DELHI : The irony wasn’t lost on anyone. Rifle shooter Sanjeev Rajput, among the few seniors in the current bunch who will be gunning for an Olympic quota place in this month’s World Cup here, praised the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for its policies, in the presence of its president Raninder Singh, during the launch of the event here on Friday.
In 2016, Rajput was a ‘victim’ as despite winning a quota place for the country he was not sent, and trap shooter Manavjit Sandhu was handed the spot. In fact, out of the 12 Indian shooters for the Rio Olympics, Rajput was the only one to win the quota spot and still be left out. The quota (qualification spot) won by a shooter is awarded to the country and the federation decides who is selected.
“The federation is doing a good job and without its support it is a bit difficult to manage things. I am sure it will send the best team for the Tokyo Olympics” said Rajput, a silver medallist at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.
With the qualifiers for the Olympics on, the focus is back on the quota places and its distribution. Raninder Singh said the Olympic quota allotment policy is transparent and the selection committee will give quotas to eligible shooters on the basis of merit points. However, he added: “We are open to improvement.”
Announcing plans to conduct the season’s first Olympic qualification event --- World Cup in rifle and pistol --- starting on Feb 20 at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges --- he promised to stick to the policy, saying ‘the interest of the nation’ matters.
“As per the world governing body (ISSF), the quota is for the country and not an individual. Generally, NRAI gives it to the athlete who earns it. In exceptional cases, if the athlete is unfit or the performance graph dips in the build up to the global competition, then federation has no choice but to allot it to another shooter who shows good form,” he explained.
Given the stakes in shooting that has seen tremendous spurt with several teenagers winning international medals and achieving world record scores, NRAI would hope to steer clear of any controversy this time around.
“We are human beings and could make mistake, but by and large shooting is an event where scores count. The best definitely gets the dues,” he said.
Rajput, then with the Navy, earned the quota in the 50m rifle 3-position in the Asian Shooting Championships, the last qualification event. However, he was dropped from the Rio Olympics bound team. His quota was swapped with the shotgun discipline and trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu got the green signal. Then NRAI claimed Sandhu was picked because he had more consistent scores in the selection trials. Having put that disappointment, Rajput is again aiming to win quota in the 50m rifle 3-position on home ground. “It’s the best opportunity,” he said.