SportsPosted at: Jun 25 2025 5:32PM


We are converting more final qualifications into medals: NRAI President Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo

By Rohit Kumar Mitra
Dehradun, June 25 (UNI) National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) President Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo feels that the conversion rate of tournament final appearances to medals for Indian shooters has risen, which is a very encouraging sign.
In an exclusive interview to UNI here, where Deo is visiting to oversee selection trials 3 group A, Rifle and Pistol, he said:
"Our problem was that even if we were making it to the finals we were not able to convert them into medals. Now, if you look at our performance at the World cups, Asian Games, Olympics and even world championships, medal conversions has reached almost 50 per cent.
"At Paris we had a 22-member squad, we got three medals, we got three number four positions, one number five position, one number six position. So the conversions from the quota places to the final is almost 50 per cent, and from final to medals is almost 50 per cent as well. We now have to take this percentage to 60 and 70 per cent."
He credited the NRAI's high performance team led by Director Dr. Pierre Beauchamp for the development.
"Our high performance team led by Dr Pierre Beauchamp, is a big asset for us. They had meticulous and detailed training sessions/ modules especially focused for the final matches, which will help our shooters perform better once they get into the finals."
He praised 19-year-old 10-meter shooter Suruchi Singh who won three consecutive golds at three World cups. He said that Suruchi's ability to remain stoic both in victory and defeat is her biggest strength
"She is a fabulous discovery, she was part of our junior team, but has come up seamlessly to the senior side. Her strength is that she remains unshakable -- neither does she let success get to her nor does she let her failures get to her. Not that she has had any failures, she has the mental framework and fortitude that is essential for shooting. She is mature beyond her years, she has got the correct mental framework and right attitude for being successful."
Suruchi had secured back to back golds in the recent ISSF World cups held in Argentina, Peru and Germany.
Deo feels that shooting as a sport is making rapid strides in India.
"The boom in this sport has started. We have over 95,000 registered shooters in the NRAI framework, 17,000 registered ranges in the NRAI framework. Everytime we hold the nationals, we have 15,000 participating - those who have gone through district, state, zonal, pre nationals and then nationals. So the shooting community has grown by leaps and bounds. The performances in big tournaments like Olympics and Asian Games gives a big push to the sport.
"The fact that we are certifying a number of ranges in a year, the fact that we trained 1,000 coaches in the last two years - NRAI and ISSF certified coaches, will ensure standardised, world-class training in these new ranges. The upcoming league will ensure greater visibility for the sport," he added.
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see more..