Singh pushes for shooting at CWG 2022, pledges support to Lankans
The President of National Rifle Association of India ( NRAI), Raninder Singh, has pledged total support to Sri Lanka, after he successfully advocated to revive shooting sports at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 to be held in Birmingham.
The NRAI, headed by Singh, a former Indian trap shooter and Vice President of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), submitted a proposal to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), through Commonwealth Games India, stating their willingness to host shooting and archery championships of CWG 2022 in Chandigarh, after both sports were taken off from the Birmingham games.
The CWG 2022 did not include shooting sports and archery from its present list of 19 sports. The proposal has been supported by the Government of India, ISSF and World Archery Federation in January and it has received approval of the CGF Executive Board at the last meeting held in London in mid February.
Following this, Singh, has made a magnanimous gesture by lending a helping hand to Sri Lankan shooters to train at international training facilities available and used by Indian national shooters in India. This development comes as a timely lifeline for Lankan shooters at a time when the National Shooting Sport Federation of Sri Lanka (NSSF) had to struggle to provide its athletes with adequate training facilities, prior to important international meets.
"Mr. Singh has pledged his fullest support to NSSF by assisting to share the international grade facilities with Sri Lankan shooters. We only have to take care of the logistics and NRAI is willing to assist NSSF in the fullest possible way to help our shooters train for international meets," said Shirantha Peries, the President of NSSF, who was pleased by the fact that India has become influential for the development of shooting sports in the region as well as globally.
NRAI president, Singh, who helped India reach its current global status in the shooting sport, since taking up office in 2009, has provided a bitter lesson for his Sri Lankan counterparts, who administered the sport in the previous terms.
However, NSSF president Peries, has managed to make the best out of the close relationship between the two neighbouring countries, as Singh opened the doors of the fully fledged facilities in India for Sri Lanka shooters to train before international meets.
"It's a great honour and privilege to closely associate with the NRAI, led by Mr. Raninder Singh, who is a living example to how commitment and hard work could reap good harvest. Years back Sri Lanka was above India in shooting sport and look at where they are now. Mr. Singh has worked tirelessly to make India a giant from the region in shooting, and taking the lead to restore shooting at CWG 2022 was another good example, besides lending Sri Lankan shooters a helping hand in getting better training facilities," Peries added.
The gesture from India comes as welcome news after NSSF's highly anticipated project of establishing a national shooting range in the vicinity of Waters' Edge Hotel, Battaramulla, came to a complete halt.
After Peries was elected as NSSF President in 2015, setting up a national shooting range was on top of his priority list, but it is heard that the project has been forced to abandonment after going through six different sports ministers.
The NSSF then set up a makeshift range provisionally at a rented private property in Kohuwela, that was meant for the usage of an establishment of one of its officials for the national athletes to train considering the accessibility of all shooters of different age categories.
It has been confirmed that the 2022 Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships and the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be two separately organised and funded Commonwealth sport events.