Exclusive! Coaching or high performance, Jaspal Rana, Deepali Deshpande and Anjali Bhagwat show the way as Gurus

Add as a preferred source on Google

Today (January 17) President Draupadi Murmu will present the National Sports Awards at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. These awards are for the year 2024 but the delay is now accepted as the whole process and nominations had to be vetted again.

For all those in the awards committee who overlooked Manu Bhaker, winner of two medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics who also finished fourth in the sports pistol event is a reminder the whole awards process needs to be rejigged.

"Why should an athlete who has won medals for the country apply for an award. This is bizarre," Dronacharya Award winner Jaspal Rana told MyKhel on Friday (January 17).

As one who himself faced hurdles when he won the Dronacharya award many summers ago, Rana is aware of what all challenges an athlete or coach has to face. This time, Manu's omission or being overlooked was not a lone case, as clarified later by Sports Minister Dr Mansukh Mandviya.

At the same time, Swanpil Kushale's personal coach Deepali Deshpande's name also did not figure in the initial list. "I definitely think its people like you in the media and MyKhel which highlighted my case. As a coach, it does not matter whether I am a personal coach or private coach.

"Having been part of the system for so long, having been a shooter myself, this Dronacharya Award is a National honour for me. I am grateful and will receive it. And at the same time, Kannan, people like you keep highlighting what all we do," said an emotional Deepali Deshpande.,

At a time when coaching in India has become so controversial, national coach versus private coach and NGOs jumping into fray, what matters is who delivers. Jaspal Rana delivered and he would have never made it to Paris 2024 had it not been for the personal intervention of Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha. It was her effort which ensured he got an accreditation card for the Olympics.

Even for selection of coaches who make the cut for foreign trips, there is politics. There is disharmony between the NSFs, the Sports Authority of India, Sports Ministry ad the IOA. Certainly, Dr Mandviya is making all efforts proactively and a forthcoming meeting on January 21 will clear the air.

As regards to the very usage of a term 'high performance', three coaches who spoke to MyKhel were frank and forthright in their opinion. "What is high performance. A coach himself is extracting the best from a shooter.

"I train my athletes in such a way even if I am not there, they know how to peak. That is why Swapnil cold win a medal in Paris. I have been a national coach before and am still training so many more. So, what I am doing is also high performance," said Deepali.

Jaspal Rana has had run-ins with the former HPD (high performance director) hired by the NRAI in Indian shooting exactly a year ago at the Karni Singh ranges in New Delhi when he was mentoring Manu Bhaker.

Rana has single handedly proved he can be all in one - coach, mentor, psycho analyst. That was the deep trust between him and Manu in the build-up to the Paris Olympics. "There was no role for anyone else, it's my job. The medals Manu won are for the country. I did my service to the nation and that's it," said Jaspal Rana.

He is disliked by the NRAI, the SAI and even the Sports Ministry because he is very frank and does not mince words. "Nobody should be made to apply for an award, there has to be a system in place where everything is monitored," added Jaspal Rana.

Imagine, the best coach who produced medals has no job contract, gets no salary, five months after the Olympics ended. He is not wanted by the Indian system.

And if he decides to leave the country for assignments abroad, it will hurt Indian shooting. He is still coaching/mentoring so many shooters in India but does not talk about it. "it's my karma, I am doing it for my country," he said. For how long, nobody knows.

The latest news as a coach/mentor and producing a domestic champion is Anjali Bhagwat, herself a former Arjuna Awardee and Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna winner. Anjali has been working with so many rifle shooters in Pune.

Last month, Anjali showed her coaching experience in Pune would be finally rewarded. In a tough field, her trainee, Ananya Naidu won gold in air rifle at the Nationals in Bhopal. "Ananya is from Nagpur and came to me during the Covid pandemic. Things were bad, but when she resumed at the Pune University, I have been able to guide her," said Anjali.

Former shooters turning champion coaches and excelling themselves as those who can produce high performance has been defining. "I have been training many rifle shooters. Each one of them is smart. We don't have to teach them basics or technique. My job is to simulate the condition when they shoot in an intense final and be mentally ready.

"So, Ananya winning is proof she can beat a very tough field. When we shot, we learnt many things by sheer practice. Today, I am able to guide the shooters. Call it coaching or high performance, to produce a national champion gives me happiness," said Anjali.

Indian shooting is indebted to these Gurus - Jaspal Rana, Deepali Deshpande and Anjali Bhagwat. Strangely, all of them are coaching in own capacity, not working for SAI, NRAI or other NGOs!