She coached her sister to Olympic gold, now Jelena is training India’s shooters
Serbian shooting coach Jelena Arunovic is currently training the Indian national pistol team in Bhopal. She is adapting to the intense emotional culture of Indian sports while bringing her experience from coaching Olympic gold medalists.
Why it matters
The integration of international coaching expertise is a key component of India's strategy to improve its performance in global shooting competitions.
In a parallel world, Jelena Arunovic could be a time traveller. One moment, the pistol coach could be seen reading a newspaper, scanning it thoroughly, making her shooters do it too. In the next, she could be sneakily taking photos to upload on her ‘insta’ stories.While reading newspapers probably make her one of the most aware persons in the Indian shooting setup, her selfies allow her to bond with the shooters, who train with her for hours, every day at the national camp in Bhopal.The shooter-turned-coach is bringing in a new energy, and it is contagious. She is breaking norms by becoming a cheerleader, friend to the shooters, while also maintaining her stature as pistol shooting coach.The Serbian has come to India after successfully coaching her sister Zorana and Damir Mikec to 10m air pistol mixed team gold at the Paris Games.
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