Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 31: Serbian shooting coach Jelena Arunovic will be appointed as the new head foreign coach of the Indian pistol shooting team, sources in the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) said on Friday.
The 44-year-old coach from Belgrade is expected to join the Indian setup after the Asian Shooting Championships, scheduled to be held in New Delhi from February 2 to 14. The NRAI is likely to make a formal announcement regarding her appointment in the coming days.
Sources said Arunovic will be offered a contract until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with an annual remuneration of around 90,000 euros, amounting to approximately Rs 8.2 lakh per month.
“The Sports Authority of India has cleared her appointment. The formal signing of the contract will take place in the next three to four days. She has agreed to most of the terms and conditions proposed by the NRAI and is keen to work with Indian pistol shooters,” a source said.
The appointment has been made with long-term objectives in mind, as Indian shooters have a packed international calendar ahead, including the Asian Games, ISSF World Cups, World Championships and the 2028 Olympic Games.
Arunovic will replace Mongolia-born coach Munkhbayar Dorjsuren, who served as the head pistol coach during the Paris Olympics in 2024 and recently stepped down due to personal reasons. Under Dorjsuren’s tenure, Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals in the 10m and 25m pistol events at the Paris Games.
Arunovic’s most recent coaching assignment was with the Chinese national shooting team, which she joined in October 2024. At the Paris Olympics, she played a key role in helping her younger sister Zorana Arunovic win a gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, fulfilling a long-cherished Olympic dream.
Zorana is a two-time World and European Games champion and a nine-time European Championships gold medallist in the 10m air pistol. Jelena has coached her extensively throughout her career, apart from working with national teams.
As a shooter, Jelena Arunovic competed in several World and European Championships but never represented her country at the Olympic Games. After the 2010 World Championships in Munich, she transitioned into coaching and later ran her own shooting club, Crvena Zvezda, in Belgrade.