"We don't see Olympic medalists after one or two Olympic Games"- Jaspal Rana condemns NRAI's flawed selection policies
Renowned coach Jaspal Rana has criticized the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for inconsistencies in its selection policies. Rana, the coach of double Olympic medalist, Manu Bhaker, stated that the selection criteria of the NRAI are 'ever-changing'.
A celebrated shooter himself, Jaspal, feels anyone who does well at the Olympics, is rarely seen much after.
“All the Olympics medallists, we don’t see them after one or two Olympics because there is no system by which we can protect them. The selection policy changes every six months. I met the sports minister and told him ‘get the selection policy from the federation. Let them decide,” Rana was quoted as saying by PTI.
Jaspal Rana feels the system must be blamed for the disappearance of the likes of Saurabh Chaudhary and Asian Games gold medalist, Jitu Rai. Chaudhary was the only Indian shooter to make the final of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Where is Saurabh Chaudhary, where is Jitu Rai? Does anybody talk about them? No. Are we talking about Arjun Babuta, who finished fourth in Paris? He missed the medal by a fraction,” added Rana.
Jaspal Rana critiques changes made to NRAI's selection policies
The NRAI amended its selection criteria in 2021 after India's medal-less shooting campaign at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It saw a significant reduction in the bonus points that were earlier awarded to quota winners. There was also a re-introduction of trials to decide on a final squad.
In the past, the selection of the final squad was at the discretion of the NHAI. The federation had all rights to swap quotas if they felt a shooter's ability was relatively inferior to someone else. The changes aimed to reduce selection anxiety among athletes.
However, the NRAI came under criticism for restricting the number of shooters who could target a birth at the Olympics to only five. Jaspal Rana stated that though he is not against the trials, he expects more consistency.
"The squad is selected from the Nationals. So, if she is not playing the Nationals.. then next year she will not get the facilities other shooters will get. Those who have competed in the Olympics and proved themselves, let them be there at every trial,” Rana concluded in the same interview.