Personal, national coaches pivotal in athlete’s career; shooters’ preparations lacked planning: Vijay Kumar

Olympic medallist Vijay Kumar emphasizes the importance of both personal and national coaches in athlete development.

Olympic medallist shooter Vijay Kumar feels both the personal and national coaches play an equal role in the growth of an athlete as the debate over the role of the two continues to intensify with the Paris Games around the corner.

Several Indian athletes have opted for personal coaches in Paris and Vijay feels there is nothing wrong with it and that due "weightage" should be give to them.

India's medal hopeful in pistol shooting Manu Bhaker has opted for pistol legend Jaspal Rana as her coach in Paris, while rifle marksman Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar trains with former Olympian Joydeep Karmakar, though the veteran hasn't accompanied his ward to the Games. Athletes in several other disciplines are also taking help of personal coaches as they eye Olympic dream.

Vijay, who was a surprise medal-winner in the 2012 London when he stepped out of the shadow of the likes of Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang to clinch silver in rapid-fire pistol, said personal coaches should get due "weightage" as they have played a pivotal role in bringing up the athlete to this level.

"Well, it's a complicated issue. Personal coaches should also get due weightage. Suppose I become a national coach some day, the shooter who comes to me, he would have been trained by someone to come up to that level by a personal coach," Vijay, an ex-serviceman now serving as DSP with Himachal Police, told PTI.

"So, the contribution of both the coaches is equal. The national coaches give that extra push... that 1-2 point bump in scores, how to handle pressure in international competition," said Vijay, who got enrolled in the Army early and was able to harness his talent in shooting to bring several accolades for the country.

The 38-year-old, however, feels that the shooting federation should appoint coaches with good credentials and those who have faced challenging situations in some of the toughest competitions in the world.