NRAI plans to appoint three Indian chief coaches

The NRAI has proposed to appoint specialised chief coaches for pistol, rifle and shotgun disciplines instead of one national coach to help the shooters achieve better results.

Under the proposal, the three experts from India will be in addition to the foreign coaches for the three categories.

The post of national coach has been lying unoccupied since Prof. Sunny Thomas resigned last month after 19 years of service.

"We are sending a proposal to the government and once everything is cleared, we will put the system into place," National Rifle Association of India's advisor Baljeet Sethi said.

"We thought that instead of having one, it's better to appoint three separate chief coaches who specialise in respective discipline. We have realised that it's not easy to for a rifle coach to help a pistol shooter," Sethi added.

The NRAI brass met on Tuesday to discuss various options relating to the proposal.

"Anything that helps the shooters improve their game, we will go ahead with it," the veteran sports administrator said.

The NRAI is also contemplating bringing a few minor changes to its existing selection policy for its rifle and pistol shooters. The current system, which ranks shooters based on their average score from select competitions, has often received brickbats.

The federation has asked the country's leading shooters for their views. The body is expected to take a call on the issue in the executive committee meeting on September 20.

"We review the selection policy before every Nationals and since the Olympics has just got over, we thought it's a good time to see if we can make it better. Nothing, though, has been finalised yet," Sethi said.

Another NRAI official, on condition of anonymity, said that Beijing Games gold medallist Abhinav Bindra has already given his approval to the proposed changes.

The proposal has been sent to all the affiliates of NRAI and shooters for their views.

Sethi also said that they are on the lookout for a foreign coach for skeet shooters. "We are in negotiations with a few candidates."

While rifle coach Stanislas Lapidus' contract is valid till the 2014 Asian Games, Marcello Dradi is also expected to continue with the shotgun shooters.