NRAI begins process to hire coaches, experts for next Olympic cycle

 The National Rifle Association of India has initiated the process of hiring high-performance managers and coaches for the next Olympic cycle as the tenure of the current set of experts will end after the Paris Games in August.

A record number of 21 shooters have qualified for the Paris Games, raising hopes that India will break the jinx of returning home without a medal in the two previous Olympics -- 2016 Rio and 2021 Tokyo.

All the experts in the current setup will be eligible to apply for the posts of High-Performance Director, foreign and national coaches and the NRAI will keep them till the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The Indian shooting team is currently having the services of HPD Pierre Beauchamp, while two-time Olympic medallist Munkhbayar Dorjsuren is the team's foreign coach for pistol events. Austria's Thomas Farnik is the foreign coach for rifle shooters.

The last date for receipt of applications for the post of HPD, foreign and national coaches is July 31.

"The Sports Authority of India always follow the Olympic cycle in terms of hiring coaches and based on that we have advertised for the posts. Anybody who wants to render their services again will have to apply. The NRAI will discuss each and every case and based on the merit they will be selected," NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia said.

On whether the performance in the Paris Olympics will count towards the appointment or rejection of current set of coaches in the next Olympic cycle, Bhatia said, "Naturally appointment will be valid from after the Paris Olympics. The contracts of the current set of coaches are till August 31." "Shooting sport at the Olympics will be over on August 6, so we will have 25-26 days after that to (consider the next set of coaches)." "We have also sent a request to the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) to put the advertisement on their website so that more number of foreign experts can apply," he added.

A few pistol and rifle shooters during the Olympic Selection Trials (OST), conducted in New Delhi and Bhopal in April-May, had alleged that foreign coaches were not present during the exercise.

Bhatia said, those shooters should be asked whether they were availing the services of the foreign coaches.

"Those shooters should be asked whether they were training under the foreign coaches. Nobody would say they were training under foreign coach. They will say 'we train with personal coaches. I have got nothing to do with foreign coach'.

"When you are not training with foreign coach, they why you need foreign coach. Whether he comes or not, what difference does it make," added Bhatia.

"There is a fixed line for every shooter that we don't train with foreign coach. This is the hypocrisy of athletes." Interestingly, SAI and NRAI spend crores of rupees on foreign experts.

"As far as foreign coaches are concerned, they complete their camp period and only then they leave," he added.

Bhatia also confirmed that foreign trap coach Marcello Dradi had "exited" on medical ground.

"There is now no foreign coach in both trap and skeet (Ennio Falco)," added Bhatia.

"Shooters are going to training directly with Falco. All the shotgun shooters are training with personal coaches. They are not on contract with NRAI but the fees (of the coaches) is being paid by SAI and Target Olympic Podium Scheme," he said.