Olympic medalist Vijay Kumar. (file photo)

Indian shooter Vijay Kumar, who won the silver medal for India in the London Olympics, is now feeling himself a victim of 'politics' related to sports. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) did not choose him as coach and now he has appealed to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to intervene in this matter.

Vijay Kumar had written a letter to the Prime Minister's Office in the month of September. In this he had mentioned his achievements. He said that NRAI has kept him out of the coaching panel, ignoring his achievements.

What was written in Vijay Kumar's letter?

Vijay wrote – I contacted the Secretary General of NRAI and the selection committee members, but no one told me why I was not selected as the coach. Many of the selected coaches are my old colleagues, but there are also some whose achievements are much less than mine – or who have been accused of doping and indiscipline.

He further said, it is disappointing that people who have no international experience for the country were given priority over me.

Questions on NRAI's silence and process

Vijay says that he had sent the last mail to NRAI on September 17, to which no reply has been received till now. NRAI started the process of appointing new coaches in October 2024, and announced the names of 35 coaches in February 2025, of which 16 were new names. Vijay's name did not appear in this list despite giving interview.

Vijay said that no reason was given to him.

What is NRAI's stand?

NRAI General Secretary Kanwar Sultan Singh while talking to TV9 said that the entire selection process was done as per the rules. Many claimants had applied. Those who were not selected were interviewed by an expert panel and separate responses were not sent to them.

He said that Vijay Kumar is a great shooter, he has great achievements, he has brought glory to the country, we respect him.

Vijay Kumar's displeasure and questions

But Vijay is not satisfied with this. He said that at least I should get an explanation. On one hand the Sports Ministry talks about bringing players into the system, and on the other hand the association is keeping them out. Vijay told that he has trained many junior and senior shooters while in the army, and his experience can be very useful for the country's team.

Questions also on the coach accused of doping

Vijay has specifically taken the name of coach Ankush Bhardwaj, who was accused of doping in 2010. Nevertheless his coaching contract has been extended again. Vijay said what message are we giving to our players? Some people, who did not perform well even at the national level, are now being made coaches. Such decisions will stop the progress of Indian shooting.

On the question regarding the selection of the coach accused of doping, National Rifle Association General Secretary Kanwar Sultan Singh said that this is the decision of the selection committee and in this also the entire process and norms would have been followed. He told that the contract of all shooting coaches is for one year, then everyone's performance is reviewed.

He said that we will see what can happen in the next review, this year we have taken famous shooters Jaspal Rana, Deepali Deshpande again. There is a lot to understand in coaching, there is a difference between shooting yourself and giving training as a coach. At present our coaches are doing good work and the performance of the shooters is also good.

Shooting journey in India

Shooting is India's second most successful individual Olympic sport. So far, India has won 7 Olympic medals in shooting – 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze. Indian shooters also won 3 bronze medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Manu Bhaker created history by winning two medals in the same Olympics.

Vijay Kumar's story is not just a player's resentment, but a question - even after winning an Olympic medal, if a player has to go to the Prime Minister for clarification, then questions are bound to be raised on the sports system.