Indian shooters ready for Paris Olympics, says coach Suma Shirur

India’s rifle shooting coach Suma Shirur believes that the shooters are in a very good zone ahead of the Paris Olympics, and all they need is a bit of fine-tuning leading up to the mega event.

The NRAI will hold four selection trials in April and May to select the Indian shooting team for the Games, and thereafter, the Indian continent will be heading to Munich to feature in the ISSF World Cup.

“Most of the work has been done since last year. In every competition, we were working on little things, making positive changes in their system. Now, we need to fine tune those things,” Shirur said on the sidelines of the launch of the 14 ^th RR Lakshya Cup 2023, which will be held at the Karnala Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on March 16 and 17. Around 54 shooters will compete in the tournament and NRAI’s high performance director Pierre Beauchamp will attend the event.

Talking about Olympics preparation, Shirur said, “As national coaches, we are not teaching them how to shoot, but now the focus is on how to perform at a bigger stage. That’s the main thing for us. Self-regulation is the most important aspect that we are going to work on because no matter how you train, you still need to go out there and perform…”

Despite high expectations, India’s shooters had a disappointing run in Tokyo Olympics as none of its campaigners, barring Saurabh Chaudhary, could reach the final. “Tokyo was a completely different ball game and back then, quite a few decisions had to be taken because of the circumstances. We did not have any control over those circumstances due to COVID. But this time, after the Munich World Cup, we will have our camp and the shooters will come back and emotionally recover, rejuvenate before the Paris Games,” Shirur said. “It’s about getting the best out of them. The athletes are in a very good zone, it’s just that we need to sharpen them a bit more…”