‘India should boycott 2022 Commonwealth Games’
Shooting body chief urges IOA to withdraw entire contingent as sport not part of Birmingham Games
NEWDELHI: National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Raninder Singh said India should boycott the next edition of the Commonwealth Games slated for 2022 in Birmingham because shooting has been ‘arbitrarily’ excluded from the competition.
Indian shooting contingent claimed 16 medals, including seven gold, in the Gold Coast CWG. “Will strongly appeal to the sports ministry and Indian Olympic Association to withdraw the entire Indian contingent from the 2022 edition of the CWG,” Raninder said on Tuesday.
“We know shooting is an optional event in the CWG, but members of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) should have been apprised of the development,” Raninder said.
Raninder sees foul play in this. “First, the pairs event was excluded. It was followed by the exclusion of a few more events. Now shooting itself has been scrapped. This is not acceptable,” he said. “Shooters win a major chunk of India’s medals in the CWG. If the discipline doesn’t feature, India’s position in the medals tally will fall drastically. As the head of India’s shooting federation, I believe the Birmingham Organising Committee’s decision isn’t healthy,” he said.
Raninder said three meetings so far between the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) and the CGF have yielded no result. The organising committee’s decision to scrap shooting, said Singh, defies logic.
“Since setting up a new shooting range is a costly affair and the organisers doubt whether the facility would be put to use adequately after the Games are over, shooting was scrapped. But shooting can be hosted in Bisley, which was used during the 2002 Manchester Games,” he said.
According to Raninder, lack of spectators was another issue raised by the organisers. “But that too is incorrect as I have witnessed big turnouts at the shooting venue during the Gold Coast CWG,” he added.
Talking of the overall performance of the Indian shooters in Australia, the NRAI president said, rifle and pistol shooters did a great job, but shotgun needs to improve. “With Mansher Singh becoming chief coach we believe shotgun too will improve.”