CHENNAI: In a startling revelation, India’s former chief national coach (pistol) felt that lack of qualified personnel and animosity between foreign coaches led to a forgettable show during the Olympics.
Mohinder Lal, who was with the team for the last three years, was also hurt by the way National Rifle Association of India treated him. “We faltered in the Olympics simply because we put ill-informed men in charge prior to the Olympics. (Syed) Wajid Ali is not experienced enough and the foreign coach was hated by most, which was clearly mentioned in the NRAI committee review report,” he said.
Lal had been replaced by Wajid Ali, who has been with the team for the last five months. Olympian Abha Dhillon (also a pistol coach) too was replaced. The move, according to the NRAI, was prompted by review committee’s report. However, Lal felt the NRAI had been ignoring him even before the Olympics.
Initially, the Olympian was under the impression that NRAI was adopting a rotation policy and wanted to hand others a chance. But when he was snubbed for the Rio Olympics, reality hit. Wajid Ali was handed the task of fine-tuning shooters’ skills ahead of the marquee event. “I came to know about it (being replaced) only when I was ignored for the Olympics. I thought the idea of sending Wajid was to give others a chance. But when the list for the next camp (in October) was released, my name was not there.
“I was totally kept in the dark. No one informed me. I never bothered to ask them.”
The coach, who was part of the successful Commonwealth Games and Asian Games squad, helped the likes of Jitu Rai and Prakash Nanjappa. “If they had called me and informed about their decision, I would have resigned without making a fuss.”
NRAI secretary Rajeev Bhatia reasoned that poor performance had led to his dismissal. “Based on the performances of the shooters in recent times, we had to make that tough decision,” he said. However, Lal was not part of the Olympics team.
In the Abhinav Bindra-led NRAI review report, a lot of recommendations were made regarding the nature of camps, number of days and strict attendance. Lal claimed he had already made such recommendations during his tenure. “I had informed them in the past that we need to hold longer camps. We just train about 63 days a year whereas top nations train for almost 300 days a year. That message is on record. But they never responded to that suggestion.” “I can say with confidence that I can offer a lot as a coach,” he added.
anmol@newindianexpress.com