Bengaluru, Feb 17 (IANS): As part of the High Performance partnership between the JSW Group and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), 11 members of the Indian senior shooting squad participated in a five-day training-cum-conditioning camp at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS).

The shooters, who are preparing for the ISSF World Cup beginning next month in Delhi, attended a series of workshops and practical training sessions aimed at enabling them to better manage the rigours of elite sport ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo later this year.

The shooters in attendance included a mix of experienced hands like Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil and Mairaj Ahmad Khan along with talented youngsters including Manu Bhaker and Divyansh Singh Panwar. Other shooters at the camp, which came to an end on Sunday, were Deepak Kumar, Abhishek Varma, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Rahi Sarnobat, Yashaswani Singh Deswal and Chinki Yadav.

The team was accompanied by pistol coach Ved Prakash Pilania and junior national rifle coach Suma Shirur.

"Initially we were all a little confused when we were told that we would be spending a week training without our weapons and anything related to our sport. But when we reached here, I was blown away by the positive training environment at the institute, which I think is perfect for an athlete to grow mentally and physically. I have never stayed at a hostel before, and the discipline followed by all the athletes here was my biggest takeaway from the week," said Bhaker, the 2018 CWG gold medallist and winner of five 2019 World Cup gold medals.

The camp followed from the strategic partnership signed by the two organisations in December 2018 under which JSW would fund NRAI's high performance requirements to develop Indian shooters ahead of the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

During the course of the week, the shooters underwent MSK testing by the IIS physiotherapy department and attended sessions on aspects such as injury prevention, diet and nutrition, sleep management and jet-lag, and received support from the team of expert physiologists along with strength and conditioning coaches at the institute.

The camp also included sessions from experts on managing pressure, handling the media, social media management and the importance of athlete interest in the face of commercial and sponsorship engagements.

This was the second instance of a senior national team visiting IIS after the Boxing Federation of India hosted the Elite men's boxing national camp at Bellary for two months earlier this year.

The shooters also enjoyed a day at historic Hampi where they travelled in the rocky terrain and soaked in history.

Four shooters who had won the Olympic quota, Saurabh Chaudhary, Sanjeev Rajput, Tejaswini Sawant and Angad Vir Singh Bajwa could not join the camp due to various reasons.