Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

Indian Olympic squad shooters have been training at home during the pandemic. However, the coaches have found it urgent to have a national camp and get on with proper preparation.

World and Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra felt that Indian shooting needed to wake up from its slumber and get on with organised activities. This is so that they have the best shot at the Tokyo Olympics.

“Training at home for long may have a negative effect. They are so young. Bad habits in technique can very easily creep in when not monitored. “The team needs to train in a camp, maybe in a bio bubble environment,” said Bindra.

National rifle coach Deepali Deshpande stated that coaches had made a request for a long camp. The camp had to last for about six to eight weeks, starting in October.

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) have to work out all details for a ‘safe camp’.

“Training camps must resume at the earliest,” said Deepali. “Supervision is a must and company also very important. Delhi looks the best place with all facilities for shooters, including medical,” she said.

She also pointed out that a long camp would address a lot of things effectively.

“A longer camp is required to recover the time lost. We will get enough time to settle down in the new training environment with all safety measures.

“On the technical front, it is a tougher task to get shooters back from their comfort zones to the same level as they were in February before the lockdown. We need time for all these. If we have a long camp, we don’t have to rush into the next camp,” said Deepali.

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