CGF to seek ISSF help to resolve shooting issue

ONE OF THE REASONS THE CGF TOP BOSS, ON HER RECENT VISIT TO INDIA, ATTRIBUTED TO SHOOTING’S EXCLUSION WAS THAT THE ISSF DID NOT RECOGNISE THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES AS A COMPETITIVE EVENT.

New Delhi: With the threat of India’s withdrawal from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG) over exclusion of shooting looming l arge, t he Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Louise Martin is planning a meeting with the International Shooting Sport Federat i on ( I SSF) i n Munich next month “to discuss how the sport can be involved in the CWG”.

“At present, we are working hard behind the scenes (with the Indian Olympic Association) to find innovative and creative solutions to benefit all partners. This means finding a solution that works for India as well as the UK Government, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee, the athletes of the Commonwealth and our 71 member nations and territories.

“Dialogue will c ontinue behind the scenes and I hope to attend the ISSF General Assembly in December to discuss other options. I am sure we will end up with a positive outcome. There is still a long way to go to reach a solution, however — “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Martin wrote in her blog in a s ports website, i nsidethegames.biz.

Martin’s statement came after her visit to India. “We took the concerns of the sports minister (Kiren Rijiju) and the IOA president (Narinder Batra) extremely seriously and, at the same time, were pleased to hear that they both consider the Commonwealth Games an extremely important event for the athletes of India.”

One of the solutions put forward by IOA was that the medals won at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships, held before the CWG, be added to India’s CWG medals tally.

“There has been lots of speculation around what this (solution to the issue) could be and we were asked repeatedly about a pot e nt i a l Commonwealth Shooting Championships. At present, we are working hard behind the scenes to find innovative and creative solutions to benefit all partners,” said Martin in her blog.

One of the reasons the CGF top boss, on her recent visit to India, attributed to shooting’s exclusion was that the ISSF did not recognise the Commonwealth Games as a competitive event and there were no ranking points given to shooters for competing in the CWG. Martin had said that the CGF and the ISSF will have to work closely so that the CWG shooting competitions could be ratified by the ISSF.

The CGF president added that “The athletes of India will compete at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. We acknowledge that this decision will ultimately be taken by the sporting family of India. However, we have been delighted to have had the opportunity to discuss the refreshed vision of the Commonwealth Sport Movement and India’s important role in being part of it.”

Reacting t o t he developments, IOA secretary-general Rajiv Mehta said, “We are building the tempo for shooting’s inclusion into the CWG right from scratch after Martin’s visit. I am aware that she (Mart i n) has plans t o attend t he ISSF’S Extraordinary General Assembly i n Munich next month. I hope for a positive outcome,”

Mehta said he met National Ri f l e Associati on of I ndia (NRAI) president and ISSF vicepresident Raninder Singh on November 15 in Chandigarh and discussed the issue.”