New Delhi, Jul 26 (Shooting News) In what can open a window of opportunity for the shooting enthusiasts and coaches in India, the International Shooting Federation (ISSF) and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on Tuesday joined hands to launch a redesigned national-level coaching course.
The "ISSF Coaches Programme", which was first launched in late 2019 and is equivalent to the former ISSF C license, was prematurely halted in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to officials of NRAI, the redesigned programme has undergone some major changes and will regularly see top instructors from ISSF flying down to India to conduct the course.
Two ISSF instructors, Ahmed Sief El Din Daoud of Egypt for Pistol and Natalya Zhukova of Russia for Rifle are currently in India to conduct the course. They are closely working with the likes of Samaresh Jung and Manoj Kumar.
ISSF impressed with shooting infrastructure in India the decision comes months after the world shooting body regularly held discussions with the NRAI on restarting the programme which was in its infancy back in 2019.
"This is the first time that the ISSF has come up with such a coaching course anywhere in the world," said Pawan Singh, Joint Secretary General, NRAI and Director, Coaches Development Program.
"They have been thoroughly impressed with not only the overall infrastructure of shooting in India but also because of the fact that the sport is hugely popular these days among the youths.
"The following programme is historic in so many ways as it will result in a deeper penetration by providing top-quality coaching drills, especially at the grassroots level, benefiting the sport in the country overall in the long run," he said.
Relaunched coaching course a game changer the ISSF, through its previous coaching programmes, permitted only 15 licenses to be given out every year and it stipulated national federations to nominate two coaches per year. As a result, India could only have a handful of top-quality coaches over the last few years.
The global sporting body, through its redesigned coaching programme, has let go of such restrictions, and this presents a unique opportunity to more Indian coaches.
"It is a very high-profile course for preparing our coaching faculty. This certificate course by the ISSF promotes coaching of international/Olympic standards. It's a major step by the NRAI to provide ISSF certified course to the selected candidates, and that too, at free of cost. This programme is definitely a game-changer," said Kanwar Sultan Singh, Secretary General, NRAI.
"The ISSF has assured us that we can conduct this course once again in the country after the World Championships in October.
"We plan to do more as we aim to spread the game in the nook and corner of the country. We are also planning on launching our own coaching programmes on the lines of this particular course."
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News Source : PTI
