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Suma Shirur Interview | Manu has shown other women athletes the importance of self-belief
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The head coach of the 10m air rifle contingent feels that the hard work has paid off, and calls for reinstating the junior programme in order to create athletes with a champion’s mindset; just being talented is not enough and we need to create a very strong base of athletes who can perform on the big stage
Manu Bhaker during qualification round in Chateaurouh shooting range in France Olympic 2024 on Saturday 27 July 2024.
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR
Heading into Paris, she was the last Indian female shooter to have entered an Olympic final. On her return to India, Suma Shirur – who was the head coach of the 10m air rifle contingent at the Paris Games — is all smiles for multiple reasons. Not only did an Indian woman shooter earn a medal this time but the air rifle shooters also performed exceptionally in Paris. Shirur shared her thoughts about the turnaround from Tokyo to Paris. Excerpts:
Is Suma Shirur over the moon that finally we have a female shooter medallist or are you disappointed that the record has been snatched away from you?
I am definitely happy because I belong to the first generation of Indian shooters and I was still the last woman finalist. Over the years, it had actually started to worry me as to why we are not able to do it.
Why are the women not able to come out of their shell and to perform on the Olympic stage?
I am very happy that finally all those inhibitions have been shredded and we have Manu (Bhaker), who has shown the way to a lot of other women athletes in creating that self-belief — at a high level, we are also strong enough to be able to stand the pressure and be able to perform. This is definitely going to help a whole lot of other women shooters who are extremely talented.
From Tokyo to Paris, what exactly changed in Indian shooting?
Tokyo was, of course, very heartbreaking, but I would say the circumstances were very different — because of the COVID lockdown just before the Olympics, things were not so easy. There were decisions that were made. Most of it was just to keep the team safe from COVID. But anyway, that’s history. Definitely a lot of lessons to be drawn, knowing that just having athletes who have very good world rankings is not going to help. We just need to have athletes going into the Olympics who are in form.
Shooter coach Suma Shirur.
| Photo Credit:
PTI
I would say from Tokyo to Paris, keeping the basic framework the same, a lot of things were added and included into the system, and one of the most important things was having the Olympics selection trials. It was a new concept, so it could have gone either way. We all believed that no system is ever perfect, but we needed to do things in a way that… unless we try things out, we will never know how it works. I am very happy that the Olympic selection trials were a huge success because all the bonus points were taken away. Yes, it was a little more difficult for the shooters. If the selection process was so difficult, the ones who come out of the selection process are definitely fitter, stronger and more capable of performing at a stage like the Olympics. This is one of the major things.
Apart from that, the overall system was focused on a more holistic approach, so the shooters were physically and mentally stronger. We were more focused on the process and technically also, all the coaches worked hard on each and every athlete and the high performance director was appointed to keep various sections well-coordinated.
Overall it has been very, very good teamwork and though it’s an individual sport, it’s very important to have a team that backs you. Once we were able to iron it out, everything comes along the way.
Shooting is one of the foremost individual disciplines in Indian sport wherein a coordinated effort between personal coaches and the national coach is paramount. As a part of the national coaching group this time around, how did you actually handle this aspect, especially in the aftermath of the Tokyo debacle?
That’s true. Honestly, I don’t even know what this hullabaloo is all about because both the roles are completely different. Neither can the chief coach take the place of a personal coach nor can a personal coach take the place of the chief coach. The roles are completely different. Both are equally important. I have been a personal coach also, I have been a chief coach also, and I feel that what is very important is that we respect each other. I can’t say that I am better than a personal coach. There is no comparison of any sort. We need to respect each other’s role. If we are clear about the roles, the athletes also benefit.
When an athlete is coming into the national team and when we have to go out there and perform, we are definitely not going to teach them how to shoot. They are here because they have good personal coaches. As far as the chief coach is concerned, it’s very important that I have to look at the overall team and the overall mood of the team, the overall well-being of the team. And it’s also important to ensure that everyone is in the right mood, I have to be observant, and if there are technical hiccups coming along the way, I need to iron that out. It’s also about making those right decisions under pressure.
When I have an athlete coming out in between a match, what you say is very important. When we are going into a big competition like the Olympics, it’s impossible to have all the personal coaches behind the shooter on the lane. It’s not happening because of the restrictions with the number of coaches. So it’s very important to have a coach who understands the overall system and who understands an athlete and was able to make that decision, so it’s also very important for the athlete to have that trust in the coach who is sitting there behind them and where there is no conflict of interest. All that we want is that India should win a medal. It’s not about individuals, but it’s more about the country as a whole and we are able to perform well as a team.
You mentioned performing well as a team. In your domain — 10m air rifle — how would you sum up the campaign?
I am happy with the overall performance and yes, of course, I would have been happier and content with a medal. As a coach, definitely I would look at performance because in my event all the four have performed really well. Arjun Babuta was almost there and in one shot, he missed out on a medal. Ramita also was in the finals and they were very close. Sandeep (Singh) lost his place in the final, so I think when I look at the overall team performance, I am satisfied. We narrowly missed on a medal but for the performances, I am happy and it just goes to show that now we are on the right track. Going forward, if we keep working this way, definitely we will have more medals coming in our kitty.
Overall from the shooting contingent’s perspective, do you think you all have managed to shed all the disappointments of the two previous Olympic cycles?
For sure. Everyone is like – finally, after two cycles – really celebrating the shooters, which was much-needed because of all the work that was put in at an individual level, at a coach level, at a federation level, from the government level. Everyone has been completely into it in trying to put the ghosts of Tokyo out of out of our minds. And I do hope that going forward. we are going to take things forward from Paris and leave Tokyo behind.
Now that you have buried the ghosts of the past, what is it that is required in the next couple of years before the real preparations begin for Los Angeles 2028?
I firmly believe that a lot of our work and a lot of the shooters who were performing here are the ones who were part of the junior programmes that were set up and from 2018. They managed to qualify and perform at Paris. I believe that we must reinstate the junior programme because that lays the foundation of a whole batch of shooters who need grooming. If a good shooter gets a roadmap, we can groom him/ her into becoming a very tough, competitive athlete who will be able to perform at a high level. We need to continue to stress on the junior programme and keep grooming our athletes. Just being talented is not enough. Creating a champion’s mindset comes over time. We need to continue the process and we need to continue to keep grooming our young athletes so that you know we are able to create a very strong base of athletes who can perform on the big stage.
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Paris Olympics 2024