Mohali, Dec 4 : Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo began his first full four-year term as National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) President after being elected unopposed during its general body meeting here on Thursday. The results of the NRAI office-bearers' elections were officially declared on Thursday. The elections were conducted under the aegis of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur (Retd), who was the Returning Officer (RO).

Sharing his first reactions, Deo stated, â??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 my team and me.

"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.â??

Pawan Singh, one of Indiaâ??s most respected shooting administrators and technical experts, has also been elected unopposed. â??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," Singh said.

The elections also put in place a new Executive Committee and a new Governing Body, the highest decision-making body of the National Federation.

In the two electoral contests that took place, Amit Sanghi from Telangana was elected as the Senior Vice President of the Governing Body, while Kanwar Sultan Singh and Sushma Singh were elected Vice-Presidents in the 15-member Executive Committee (EC).

The four sportspeople in the Executive Committee will be Olympic bronze medallist Gagan Narang, Kunti Malik, Zorawar Singh Sandhu, and Elavenil Valarivan, respectively.

Deo first became involved in sports governance in 2017, when he was elected as senior vice-president of NRAI. Following Raninder Singh's 12-year term as NRAI President, which was limited by the organisation's constitution and national sports code provisions, Deo assumed responsibility for the NRAI's day-to-day operations as the senior-most office-bearer.

On April 6, 2023, he formally took charge as acting president. He was elected president of the NRAI on September 21, 2024, during a general body meeting in New Delhi, defeating challenger V.K. Dhall by a vote of 36-21. Deo, who had been NRAI senior vice president since 2017, assumed office for a one-year term, which ended in 2025.

/IANS