How the NRAI fires at our champions

[m24]

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Anyone who has represented India in shooting will have plenty of horror tales to tell about how they have dealt with the apex body - the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). Last week, when Mail Today got to know that the NRAI was actually fleecing shooters for competing in the national shotgun trials in Patiala, it came as a shock to the entire sporting fraternity.

Insiders I have spoken to now are coming out with more and more tales as to how this is not a new practice for the NRAI and has been in existence for years! But the more relevant issue is that just two months ago, when another camp was held in Patiala, each shotgun shooter was promised Rs 1,400 per day for boarding and lodging. It is learnt that till date, the 40- odd shooters who went for the fortnight- long camp have still not been paid. Each shooter had to spend a fortune.

So is the NRAI truly a non- profit organisation which promotes the sport at home or does it function like a business house with scant respect for accountability? The sports ministry has already asked for an inquiry into the episode to find out why sportspersons competing for India needed to pay for trials when the government is virtually paying for everything.

And that too, with the Commonwealth Games less than 300 days away.

In fact, the ministry actually wrote to all sports federations earlier this month asking for details about their accounts and election processes because it feels certain malpractices are taking place.

Coming back to the NRAI, everyone knows that the way it handles matters is tardy. Blaming the government agencies for delays in equipment and ammunition import is their pastime and dealing with shooters in an unprofessional manner their forte.

As a body which single- handedly managed to wreck the career of pistol prodigy Jaspal Rana after the 2006 Asian Games, it is now making every attempt to ensure things become difficult for Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra.

Bindra has not shot in a single competition after Beijing. He had almost decided to give up the sport but has again found the hunger to work hard and hopes to give it a good shot at the 2012 London Olympics. So how does the NRAI treat him? Had it been any other country, Bindra would have been feted for his golden and historic effort.

Instead, the NRAI starts throwing the rule book at him and says how he is at par with other shooters and should be in national camps! Heck, Bindra was never part of any national camp and trial and that is why he could shoot gold in Beijing. After having been kept out of the CWG 2010 core group, Bindra has now been told he has to come and shoot in trials.

Well, he stopped training in Germany and came to India for the trials this month only to be informed the trials have been postponed to January.

Surely, no other sports body in the world would treat a champion like this. Yet, Bindra keeps quiet because he knows the NRAI behaviour can get worse.

I spoke to Bindra at length and he explained how the process of training for one more crack at Olympic glory means he starts training for it over two years in advance. Bindra feels if he has to go for gold, he has to give it his best effort.

"I have always believed in the best possible preparation. For me, training abroad with my coach, trainer and sports psychologist is very different.

That is how I can again aim for a medal in the Olympics and not be worried about what I will do in other events. I make my own schedule with my advisors and that's how things work," he said emphatically.

If Bindra has found the motivation to pick up a rifle again, he needs to be saluted for it.

The sports ministry should actually be stepping in to ensure he is treated with respect and not pushed around, as is the case now.

More surprising is the way the NRAI does its imports. People who know a thing or two about the sport wonder why the NRAI imported ' crosshair' telescopes eight years back. This is a piece of equipment which can be fitted on a rifle from .22 calibre to the biggest calibre.

Apparently, as per the international federation ( ISSF) rules, this telescope is never used in a sports event.

The 'crosshair' telescope is used for shooting small game and big game where it aids the marksman. It is also used in snipers by security forces.

The price at which NRAI imported them and who eventually got them needs to be found out. There is something fishy about all this. More so, because the national coach gave an affidavit to the sports ministry that this equipment is used in sports.

[nagarifle]

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[MoA]

While the NRAI is a piece of work, and its actions deplorable. The article is half baked and poorly researched.

[mundaire]

[m24]

Don't know about the quality of the article, but am more than happy that anomalies about the so called CARETAKERS of our sport is being reported. Whether this will make these bureaucrats sit straight and do their work remains to be seen.

Regards