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| Edited By: G Krishnan |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 11, 2019, 06:35 AM IST
In an exclusive chat to DNA, chief coach of India’s junior rifle team and former Olympian Deepali Deshpande, 50, tells G Krishnan about what goes into the consistent successes of today’s Indian shooters. Excerpts:
You have to go back a little. When we were shooting, we set some benchmarks. In Atlanta World Cup in 2003, Suma (Shirur), Anjali (Vedpathak-Bhagwat) and I made it to the World Cup final. In those days, three Indians in the final of a World Cup was huge. It all started in 1994 when Jaspal Rana won Junior World Championships gold in 25m standard pistol. Slowly, we went on adding to it. Anjali in 2002 Commonwealth Games won a lot of medals. Ultimately Abhinav Bindra won Olympics gold in 2008. National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) started a training plan, hired foreign coaches, tried to put in some system in place. We reached a certain level. Then, to actually become a dominant nation, we needed to do something more.
That's when seven years ago, NRAI started this junior programme. In our times, getting shooters into sport was a challenge. NRAI accomplished that. We had such a huge pool of talent but no guidance or no system to put them on track properly. That was started in 2012 after the London Olympics. All the sections were segregated, juniors and seniors, every section had a separate coaching team. Basically junior programme we started then. Elite shooters were appointed for junior section. There we started building base. Selection policies were changed, those policies were reviewed every year. That was the first time we actually had a proper policy on paper. Likewise, we started making changes in basic working.
Jaspal and I were the first batch of coaches who have experience at the Olympic level and shot at the world stage. This is another stage of shooting in India. Our contemporary shooters had already started coaching in small ways in their own ways in academies and clubs. A lot of international shooters starting coming in as a coaching staff for national team.
Presently, in senior section, almost all the coaches are shooters who had been in the Indian team at several levels. Anjum Moudgil is one of the first batch of shooters under us. For them, it was unlearning and learning. We coaches were also learning through our experiences.
By 2016-17, the new batch of shooters came. By then, the system was in place. The selection policy was in running, small academies were running smoothly. At grass root level, everything was set.
The batch of Saurabh Chaudhary, Mehuli Ghosh, Elavenil Valarivan, Manu Bhaker were part of 2017 batch. For them, everything was set.
The results came in much faster. Within a year or two, we got results. It is basically all collective effort from federation side, a lot of import policies changed, many restrictions were relaxed. Participation in national competitions is huge so we get huge pool of talent. We are now able to prove with expertise.
At every level, things are taken care of. That is the reason we are getting these results.
We have not reached our full potential. There are so many shooters in the pipeline. Now we are working together in one direction. Then you become a force. Until Rio Olympics, everyone was working hard. Each shooter was working separately with their own coaches. There was no one system to bind them together. There was no common programme. Now all coaches – personal and national – are working as a team. It is very reassuring that what we are getting now are system generated results.
There is a plan and everybody follows it so there is no scope for shooters to work individually and arrange things for themselves. Things are already taken care of by the coaching teams.
Of course, the Olympic medal is the ultimate goal for everyone. Olympics comes once every four years. After Olympics nothing stops. It just goes on. We are working towards excellence. In 10m air rifle, world Nos. 1, 2, 3 are all Indians – Apurvi Chandela, Anjum and Elavenil. Then the fourth to eighth-ranked shooters are all of the same standard. We must have that kind of dominance in all the events. You reach one benchmark, you set up another goal. Olympic medal should just happen. That is the goal, do our best and Olympic medal should just happen. We have to reach that level. A few years ago, we used to think that about China. Their winning was taken for granted. Now, we are in that position. Rest of the world know there will be one or two Indians fighting for gold.
Winning is no more a dream. To give an example, Anjum and Divyansh Singh Panwar won 10m air rifle mixed team gold in Beijing (Silver) and Munich World Cups this year. In Rio, they won bronze. Anjum was doing her stuff, packing when the foreign coach Oleg Mikhailov came in. Anjum is basically not a very outgoing person. She is very quiet. He told her 'it's over now, smile'. She just gave him a smile and he said, 'why, what's wrong? You want to win always?' Apurvi and Deepak Kumar won gold. She went out and said 'yes, of course'. They have that kind of attitude. They feel they deserve to win and must have it. This attitude of youngsters is working very well for us. She felt she did not shoot to the best of her ability. More than winning or losing, it is about not being able to perform to the best of the ability. I am often asked if the shooters will be able to handle the pressure of Olympics. They are not worried about Olympics pressure. It is about performance. Sometimes, they don't win but they come out and say 'I shot very well and am satisfied with my shooting'. At other times, after winning, they are not satisfied. Now they are beyond winning and losing. They are only bothered about excelling.
It is an individual sport. You cannot actually get into rivalries. If you get into the trap, you are dead. It is an individual sport. You don't have any control on what the other person does. This generation understands this very well. That is why the environment in the whole team is so good. It is really enjoyable to be with the team now. Indians are beating fellow Indians in almost all the events. Earlier, the shooter and his two coaches are there at the arena. The rest of the shooters pack up. Now, the rest of the team sit behind applauding and cheering the shooters. Today's team actually works together in every sense.
They don't think differently for Olympics. Everyday they want to shoot their best. The day they don't shoot their best, they are not happy. For this generation, winning is no big deal. When things are happening around, your teammate is winning so often. In practice, both shoot the same scores. That person's achievement adds to your self image also. That is working for the whole team. No more do we think we are Indians and will lose.
Yes. This year has been that good. In every World Cup, we have overtaken China. We must hold our ground now and continue to work in the same fashion. We have not reached our best yet. We still have a long way to go.
We have an Olympic policy in place. We have shortlisted competitions. Only performances in those competitions will be counted and they will go as per ranking. It started with Asian Games last year, World Championships, all 4 World Cups, Asian shooting and the first World Cup next year in Delhi. The best-ranked shooters, with better average, from these meets will go to Tokyo.
Every shooter wants to go to the Olympics. But, we have a policy and everyone knows it. We don't discuss these things with the shooters. Many of them have not read the policy, especially the youngsters. Because we are around, they know things will be taken care of. Their job is to perform. Shooters cannot get into everything and still keep his head calm when he goes on the lane.
Securing Olympic quota does not assure them a direct entry. They know that. There is a policy. With the youngsters, we work on the thought process. We have to keep counselling them with a lot of things. There are ways where they can themselves handle such situations. Manu missed out on her quota and medal in sports pistol when her pistol malfunctioned. She was leading. She lost. In next event immediately, she got her composure and performed. That shows she has been nurtured and counselled well so that she could focus and perform to her best. It is our job to maintain that. Initially, it is their ignorance with innocence. Ignorance becomes their asset because they are innocent. They don't think what is right or wrong. Whatever they are taught, they do. Because emotions are not involved, they perform better. But that is not going to last for long. Slowly, you have to educate them. That has to happen very smoothly.
