Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, the newly elected president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), is leading a national sports federation that gave India half of the medals it won in the Paris Olympic Games.

Shooting gave India three medals in Paris and made double bronze medallist Manu Bhaker the toast of the country. India won six medals in Paris.

“That’s 50 per cent of the medals,” Singh Deo, the Biju Janata Dal MLA from Bolangir, Odisha, told
The Telegraph during an exclusive interview.

“We are in everybody’s focus now thanks to Manu’s success story. We look at it as an opportunity to make the sport more visible. We have to ensure that we are able to popularise the sport enough to attract funding... Apart from what the government has been very graciously supporting us with and our sponsors,” Singh Deo, who was the deputy chef de mission (shooting) in Paris, said.

India, who had three or four world-class shooters even a decade ago, now produce shooters in droves. In Paris, a record number of 21 shooters qualified and could have added three more medals to the tally. Arjun Babuta, Manu (25m pistol) and the duo of Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan came fourth in their respective events.

“Now and 12 years ago... The bench strength that we have is mindblowing. Nowadays, if you look at the way the team has been rotating, there is very little difference between the number one and number six shooters. So, this is an opportunity for us to increase these high-level shooters,” Singh Deo said.

“We have to substantially increase the bench strength at the grassroots level. That will happen through many more high-performing centres. Delhi, of course, is there. Mhow (in Madhya Pradesh), is coming up well. Kerala and Chennai have come up well. Ahmedabad has got some trapped institutions. Bengal has got its own centre happening in Asansol and Odisha has earmarked 40 courts as well as 25 acres of land for a high-performing centre,” he added.

The junior programme is a thorny issue that Singh Deo would have to deal with astutely. The junior programme was discontinued to make way for Khelo India Games and that is something coaches like Jaspal Rana want to be reinstated. Manu and most of the shooters who bring laurels to the country are products of the junior programme. Rana, Manu’s personal coach and a celebrated shooter, was heading that programme.

“Yes, the junior programme is a grey area,” Singh Deo, 50, agreed. “Almost 70 per cent of the team has come out of the junior programme in the past. But in the last few years, it has been substituted by Khelo India. We have requested the government to allow us to work with them. To support the Khelo India programme. So that we can identify good coaches... So the transition of the juniors into seniors becomes seamless.”

Singh Deo said a lot of international universities have shown interest in collaborating with NRAI. “The interest of foreign universities speaks very well of the quality of governance at the NRAI.”

New Delhi will host the ISSF World Shooting Finals from October 13-18. Manu’s success saw a huge number of budding shooters applying for volunteers’ jobs.

Shooting is making the right noise in the country. How Singh Deo’s NRAI makes the most of it remains to be seen.