We are convinced Jaspal was the best candidate for Dronacharya Award, says Raninder Singh

Coach Jaspal Rana has not been recommended for the Dronacharya Award this year. However, NRAI believes that he is the most deserving coach who should receive this honour. The body feels that the significant contributions of coach Rana have been neglected while recommending names for the Dronacharya Award as he has produced constant results as the Indian junior shooting team coach.

“We are convinced he (Jaspal) was the best candidate for the award," NRAI president Raninder Singh told PTI.

“....it is for the empowered panel to decide on merit and we trust such an accomplished and talented coach will very soon be considered favourably at the next such opportunity," Raninder added.Cricket coach Tarak Sinha and Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu's coach Vijay Sharma have been recommended for the Dronacharya Award by the selection committee. Along with them, hockey coach Clarence Lobo, judo coach Jeevan Sharma and boxing coach CA Kuttappa have also been nominated for the coaching Award. Total seven candidates have been recommended by the selection committee for the Dronacharya Award, excluding coach Rana.

Manu Bhaker, Saurabh Chaudhary, and Anish Bhanwala have earlier spoken about the role coach Rana has played in their success. The Junior shooters, under the guidance of Jaspal Rana, had performed exceptionally at the ISSF World Championships as well, which was recently concluded in Changwon, South Korea. Indian Shooting squad had returned with 11 gold medals, nine silver and seven bronze, with the junior shooting team accounting for the majority of medals.