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The West Bengal Rifle Association (WBRA) has urged Sports minister Indranil Khan to recommend upgrading the Asansol Rifle Club to a National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) of Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Eastern India. Located in Chandmari of Asansol town, the club’s long-pending proposal aims to establish it as a premier sports shooting facility under the Central government’s SAI scheme.
A delegation, led by VK Dhall, president of the West Bengal Rifle Association (WBRA) and the vice president, had informed the state sports minister that their previous proposal was halted by the former state administration over disagreements regarding joint initiatives with the Central government. Indian teenage shooting prodigy Abhinav Shaw practices in ARC.
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A NCOE in eastern India will allow the Sports Authority of India to recruit and fund elite coaches, a service the local association cannot currently afford due to severe budget limits. This development will provide massive benefits to Bengal’s shooters. While SAI currently operates shooting NCOEs across India ~ including New Delhi (Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range), Varanasi (Sigra), Lucknow, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, and Rohtak ~ the entire eastern region completely lacks such a facility.
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Officials from the Association also met Indranil Khan, in Kolkata to invite him as the chief guest for the 58th West Bengal State Shooting Championship.
VK Dhall told The Statesman that the minister showed keen interest in the state’s shooting sports infrastructure. The minister also inquired about the number of local shooters, active disciplines, competition formats, and annual events. The current state government is very much keen to promote sports and the delegation team hopes that now the proposal will be recommended and forwarded to SAI soon.
Assuring the three-member delegation of full support, the minister promised to advocate strongly for the matter with SAI and the Union government.
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