CHENNAI: The Indian shooting squad left for Kuwait to take part in the Asian championships on Friday morning with an official sports psychologist, Vaibhav Agashe, in tow. The last time he accompanied the Indian team was during the ISSF World Cup in Granada in 2013.

Agashe, who has been working with the Indian shooting contingent for some time, was given credit by ace marksman Gagan Narang after he won bronze in the 10m air rifle event at the London Olympics. "Shooting is a mind game. The performance depends on how and when you work. If plan A does not give you the desired result, then I must have a plan B in place and so on. That's where the role of a mind coach comes into play," Gagan said.

Agashe, along with eminent sports psychologist Shree Advani and mental conditioning coach Badri Narayanan, are some of the key figures in the field in the country. Agashe, a former CBI official and now a research fellow with American Board of Sport Psychology, has trained Narang and a string of top-performing shooters such as Tejaswini Sawant, Rahi Sarnobat, Anisa Sayyed and Ronjan Sodhi.

Agashe employs biofeedback techniques to understand a player's psyche. He follows evidence-based applied sports psychology approach (known as Carlstedt Protocol) to go deep into a player's mind. "The first step is to map the players' response to pressure. The next step is to create mind-body interaction reports, known as psycho-physiological stress testing, checking of heart-rate responses and pressure using biofeedback equipment and heart-rate variability (HRV)," Agashe said.

Agashe said, "Abdominal breathing exercises, visualisation, consciously talking to yourself in order to stay focused are the basics for a player. A good example for this can be Usain Bolt. He does spot jogging, as if he is performing in the real race. These techniques help you build concentration."

Advani worked with shuttler PV Sindhu, who had a fruitful 2013 season. "We worked on improving her aggression on court and the results were there for all to see," he said.

Badri feels mental conditioning often has an invisible role to play in a player's development. "Our job is to set achievable goals and go about it without any compromise. We employ simulation techniques where players are provided with match scenarios that test them. This is done to improve decision-making capabilities," said Badri, who is part of Quantum Leap Performance launched by former Team India trainer Ramji Srinivasan.

The Indian cricket team too had a mental conditioning coach in Paddy Upton, who played a crucial role in helping the team win the 2011 World Cup.