Jaspal Rana, Deepali Deshpande among former shooters appointed as national team coaches after NRAI meeting

Jaspal Rana, Deepali Deshpande among former shooters appointed as national team coaches after NRAI meeting

A coach of exceptional ability, Dronacharya awardee Jaspal Rana returns to the coaching panel of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) as the “High-Performance Coach” for pistol, in a long list of coaching experts ratified by the Governing Body of the NRAI on Saturday.

Multiple Asian Games gold medallist and the face of Indian shooting for a long spell, Jaspal was instrumental in guiding Manu Bhaker to two Olympic medals in Paris. He had earlier served as the National coach for the juniors for about a decade, building a strong base for Indian shooting with his eye for discipline and focus on a sound process. Ronak Pandit continues as the “High-Performance Manager” for pistol, while Samaresh Jung continues as the Head coach.

Another Dronacharya awardee, rifle coach Deepali Deshpande returns to the coaching panel as the Head Coach. She was instrumental in guiding half a dozen shooters both men and women to win the Olympic quota in the last cycle, out of which Swapnil Kusale went on to bag the rifle 3-position bronze medal in Paris.

In rifle, Manoj Kumar will continue as the “High-Performance Coach”. In shotgun, Mansher Singh will be the “High-Performance Manager” and Anwer Sultan, the “High-Performance Coach”. Vikram Chopra has been doing commendable work as the Head coach.

Jitu Rai, Pooja Ghatkar, Om Prakash, Sonia Rai, Deepak Dubey, Varsha Tomar and Amrinder Singh Cheema are some of the prominent names joining the coaching staff of NRAI, among others.

There is no mention of the appointment of foreign coaches as yet.

The NRAI also took firm steps forward to start the Shooting League of India (SLI).

Published on Feb 15, 2025