Joydeep Karmakar resigns as India’s rifle shooting coach

Joydeep Karmakar has resigned from his post of India’s chief national rifle shooting coach.

The London 2012 Olympian was one of the high-profile coaches appointed by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) last year, with an eye on the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“It is true that I have resigned. I had not heard from the NRAI about the new contract and also I wanted to get away from the toxic environment within the team,” Joydeep Karmakar told The Tribune.

The former Indian shooter, whose contract as the national team coach ran till 2025, was tasked with preparing the Indian rifle shooters during the ongoing Olympic cycle.

Joydeep Karmakar’s appointment had come after India’s failure to win a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics despite sending an unprecedented 15-member shooting contingent.

Under Joydeep Karmakar’s watch, Rudrankksh Patil clinched the men’s 10m air rifle gold medal at the world championships last year. It was India’s first gold medal in the event at the worlds since Abhinav Bindra topped the podium in 2006.

Rudrankksh Patil’s win also helped India secure a quota for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Swapnil Kusale also earned a Paris 2024 quota place for India by finishing fourth in the men's 50m rifle 3 position event at last year’s world championships.

Joydeep Karmakar’s exit as India’s coach follows the departure of trap coach Russell Mark, a 1996 Olympic gold medallist from Australia, and his wife Lauryn Mark. Laura was the Indian skeet team coach and also the high-performance manager of the team.

Joydeep Karmakar missed out on a medal at the London 2012 Olympics after finishing fourth in the men’s 50m rifle prone event. He last represented India in 2014 but announced his retirement officially in May 2022, after being appointed as India’s rifle coach.

The NRAI had named Manoj Kumar as the chief coach of the team instead of Joydeep for the Baku World Cup last month.