Personal, National Coaches Pivotal in Athlete's Career; Shooters' Preps Lacked Planning: Vijay Kumar

Olympic medallist shooter Vijay Kumar feels both the personal and national coaches play an equal role in the growth of an athlete as the debate over the role of the two continues to intensify with the Paris Games around the corner. (More Sports News)

Several Indian athletes have opted for personal coaches in Paris and Vijay feels there is nothing wrong with it and that due "weightage" should be given to them.

India's medal hopeful in pistol shooting Manu Bhaker has opted for pistol legend Jaspal Rana as her coach in Paris, while rifle marksman Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar trains with former Olympian Joydeep Karmakar, though the veteran hasn't accompanied his ward to the Games. Athletes in several other disciplines are also taking help of personal coaches as they eye Olympic dream.

Vijay, who was a surprise medal-winner in the 2012 London when he stepped out of the shadow of the likes of Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang to clinch silver in rapid-fire pistol, said personal coaches should get due "weightage" as they have played a pivotal role in bringing up the athlete to this level.

"Well, it's a complicated issue. Personal coaches should also get due weightage. Suppose I become a national coach some day, the shooter who comes to me, he would have been trained by someone to come up to that level by a personal coach," Vijay, an ex-serviceman now serving as DSP with Himachal Police, told PTI.

"So, the contribution of both the coaches is equal. The national coaches give that extra push... that 1-2 point bump in scores, how to handle pressure in international competition," said Vijay, who got enrolled in the Army early and was able to harness his talent in shooting to bring several accolades for the country.

The 38-year-old, however, feels that the shooting federation should appoint coaches with good credentials and those who have faced challenging situations in some of the toughest competitions in the world.

"The federation should only appoint those coaches who have performed at the international level and won medals, so they can teach their wards how to handle those circumstances, what thoughts to keep in mind while shooting or relaxing, the techniques to follow," added Vijay.

He feels that the Indian shooting team's preparations have been far from ideal and that a clear roadmap should have been been in place for Paris-bound shooters six months before the mega event.

"Observing from the outside, I feel it is the planning of players in the last six months where we are lacking. The federation, I feel, should have had a crystal clear roadmap on what all competitions the shooters should take part in and the kind of training they should get and under whom.

"So the focus should have been on that. The last six months the focus should be on how to make the players more focused, how much to train them, how much foreign exposure needs to be given, all that needs to be worked to the 'T'," he added.

"This year also, I've heard that the team was announced three (two) months before the Olympics. The trials were very late and the team announcement too was late. This exercise should have been completed in January-February, to be very frank," he added.

"The federations policy to have Olympic Selection Trials was fair but the execution was a bit late. The process should have been completed 2-3 months before it actually happened. The last 5-6 months (before Olympics) are crucial. I must say, if the competition at the Olympics is in July-end, then January or maximum February the trials should have ended. Here trials were going on till April-end I suppose."

Vijay felt that the team should have been given a month's rest before they embarked on rigorous specialised training. Unfortunately, due to the Olympic Selection Trials taking place late and the late announcement of the team, Indian shooters didn't have that luxury.

"The (federation) should have been given proper rest to the shooter of about a month and then rigorous training should have started after that, plus foreign exposure, plus technical training. That would have been ideal as per my understanding," he added.

With fitness and mental trainers now becoming an integral part of every athlete competing in major international competitions, Vijay feels he isn't fully convinced about their importance.

"Even today, I am 50:50 convinced that there should be fitness trainer and mental trainer. No doubt these things help, but if your upbringing is in a particular environment, it gives you that competitive edge. That was given to me by the Army, my family upbringing.

"You cannot say you can teach (mental training) to someone at 20 or 30 years of age, because the environment a kid grows up in has a profound effect on his mind. All these things weren't there when I was shooting... the Army army atmosphere was good and had I good players for company because of which I excelled.

"We imbibed everything our coaches told us with a clear mind. We blindly followed them. For me it was Army coach Pavel Smirnov and other senior coaches.

While coaches and all the trainers can lead one to a point, Vijay feels being in the company of some of the best shooters in his time at the Army Marksmanship Unit in Mhow helped him grow as a shooter.

"Pemba Tamang, Jitu Rai... it gives you inspiration and also gives you a push that others are doing well, so you don't go into that relaxed zone. So, good players are a must for your growth."