New delhi: “Pained” by the national shooting federation repeatedly “ignoring” him for the post of national coach, Olympic silver-medallist Vijay Kumar has written to its president requesting him to take note of his “unparalleled achievements” and provide him the opportunity to groom the next generation of shooters.
Kumar, the 2012 London Olympics silver medallist and one of the finest rapid-fire pistol exponents, added that he felt demotivated seeing some coaches with absolutely “no international experience or performance” being selected for top coaching jobs while his credentials were being ignored.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president, Kalikesh Singh Deo, however, said that though he was not aware of a letter from Vijay, the veteran shooter was “a very deserving candidate and we are re-evaluating the coaching hiring after the Asian Championships (in Kazakhstan from August 16 to 30)..
“So, we will be taking some new ones (coaches) and weeding out some of the old ones who may not be ranked,” Kalikesh said.
The NRAI governing body had in February appointment nearly three dozen coaches and high-performance experts, including renowned names like Jaspal Rana and Deepali Deshpande, but Kumar’s name didn’t figure in the list.
Kumar said he had reached out to several selection committee members in the NRAI but did not receive a satisfactory answer. “I had reached out to you after being ignored by the selection committee for the position of pistol coach of the Indian shooting team in February 2025 and you had assured me of a re-look at the decision,” said Kumar in his letter.
“I had reached out to the NRAI secretary-general and members of the selection committee to understand the reasons for my non-selection to the coaching panel but did not receive any satisfactory answer,” added Kumar, who is currently a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Himachal Pradesh.
The Khel Ratna awardee and multiple-time Commonwealth Games medallist added that it is his moral obligation to bring up the next generation of shooters and he had it in him. He also alleged that some of the selected coaches had a history of doping or indiscipline and still they had been included in the set-up.