Jaspal Rana, pistol ace and currently coach to India's Olympic medal hopefuls has had to rework the entire training programme of his wards in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With total shutdown of competitive activity in sports worldwide and Sports Authority of India shutting down its facilities, instructing no sports activity or trials be held, Rana is wondering how and when to make the shooters peak? Currently, he is coaching pistol champions Manu Bhaker, Abhishek Verma and Chinki Yadav―the star trio in the Olympics-bound shooting squad.
Speaking to The Week, Rana said, “We cannot complain. It’s a tough time for everyone in the world. As for shooting, we have just got through one Olympic trial before everything was shut down. The most important thing is to figure out when the Olympics will happen. We don’t know anything yet. It’s difficult in such a scenario to figure out when and how to make the shooters peak. Our training depends mostly on competition plan. Accordingly, we do our physical training then cut down on it gradually before main competition, focusing more on the technical aspect.”
While Bhaker is based in Delhi, Verma is in Chandigarh and Chinki in Dehradun. Rana was set to hold a camp with his three wards in Bhopal that was cancelled on Thursday. A banquet hall in a hotel had been booked, three new machines for the shooters had been ordered and were on the verge of being installed. All that has been put on hold. The shooters are individually training at their respective homes, with Rana following daily plans, schedules and scores. A WhatsApp group comprising the shooters, coach Rana, the physio and trainer has been made.
Rana is satisfied his wards are well-equipped. “We are quite well-equipped. We wanted to get new grips made, that we can do in India too,” he said.
All three can train at home―they have SCAT machines installed. “The idea was to get them together in one place and shoot together but that is not possible as of now. I follow their progress daily with them. They have been doing yoga so that’s not a problem. Abhishek has weights at home. So yes, there are exercises which they can do at home, too. They have individual programmes in place already, all are mature athletes, they know what to do, the discipline etc,” said Rana. “But how long can you just train and shoot by yourself?”
While the Union sports ministry in its last directive had allowed Olympic training camps to continue, Rana does not want to take any risks with his shooters.
“All three are Olympic possibilities. I don’t want to take a risk and for them to train together, have few more people coming in to ensure functioning of the range. It is much safer to stay at home and train for now.”