KALIKESH NARAYAN SINGH DEO has commenced his first full four-year term as president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), following the official declaration of the office-bearer election results on Thursday at the Park Plaza Hotel in Mohali during the General Body meeting.
The elections were held under the supervision of Returning Officer Justice Nirmaljit Kaur (Retd). Deo was elected unopposed, as was the new secretary general, Pawan Singh, one of India’s most respected shooting administrators and a seasoned technical expert. The process also established a new Executive Committee (EC) and a new Governing Body, the federation’s apex decision-making authority.
Two electoral contests took place. Amit Sanghi of Telangana was elected senior vice president of the Governing Body, while Kanwar Sultan Singh and Sushma Singh secured the vice-president positions within the 15-member EC. The four sportsperson members of the EC will be Olympic bronze medallist Gagan Narang, Kunti Malik, Zorawar Singh Sandhu and Elavenil Valarivan.
Deo stated, “Indian Shooting has currently seen its most successful phase in history over the last couple of years, both in terms of success and popularity and that increases our responsibilities manifold. I wholeheartedly thank the entire General Body for restoring faith in me and my team, and we promise to leave no stone unturned to accelerate this growth momentum even further and to maximise the potential that our extremely talented Shooting athletes possess. With the Flag paramount in our thoughts, let us all work together to make India number one in the world in our beloved sport.”
Pawan Singh shared, “All the functions in the NRAI are already online, from registration to results, and now the next step is to use technology efficiently. We want to leverage AI and performance data to identify talented shooters across the country. My focus will be on using technology to find and nurture promising athletes from every corner of India. We also want to train coaches and shooters for coaching so that they have an alternate career when they retire and can earn from the sport they have invested their life in.”
