Shooting: Indian shooter not allowed to board flight with a gun

The Qatar Open (shotgun) is scheduled to take place in Doha starting today and Indian shooters are all geared up for it. Among the contingent is Chennai-based trap shooter Prithviraj Tondaiman who, for some reason, was not allowed to board an IndiGo flight due to the presence of his gun- something he says he has never faced before. The issue took place despite the fact that he had valid permits from both the NRAI and the country of Qatar and the fact that he is an international shooter. Tondaiman tweeted out his plight to the Sports Ministry and the DG of SAI. The Bridge caught up with him to know what the latest on the case it.

"I was supposed to travel to Doha last night," says shooter Prithviraj Tondaiman to The Bridge. "Previously, when I travelled in the domestic circle, they had already asked me for a lot of different papers to validate the carrying of a gun on their flight. IndiGo called me yesterday and I explained to them that I should not be harassed for carrying a gun." The rest of the contingent travelling from New Delhi are already at the venue. https://twitter.com/tondaimanpr/status/1098472761758892032?s=19 The venue of the Qatar Open- where Tondaiman was travelling to, will also host the Asian Championship which is an Olympic qualifying event with quota spots to offer. That automatically makes the current tournament an important one for our shooters given that they may get the feel of the conditions at the venue and prepare themselves for an Olympic qualifying event. Tondaiman had earlier emerged at the top of the National Championship held in Jaipur earlier in February among all trap shooters where he scored 124 out of 125. With consistent scores of 121, 119 and 119 in three selection trials before that, he stands a good chance to make it to the inclusive World Cups later this year starting from March.

"The customer care for the airline told me on the phone that they would make sure that everyone else would be well informed so there would be no delay. I was told that if I have my papers, all I had to do was show up with my firearm and the rest would be taken care of," Tondaiman continued. "However, at the airport, the ground staff were extremely impolite. They refused to let me on board saying that my gun would not be allowed. This was after they made me wait for more than an hour while they went to find out the guidelines in place for a gun". The shooter says that this is the first such instance of harassment he has faced in all his years of competing abroad. https://twitter.com/tondaimanpr/status/1098474871682527232

"I have travelled on IndiGo with my gun before," he continues. "The ground staff harassed me by saying that this was his domain and that he was the boss here." "The PA of the Sports Minister got in touch with me after I shared my plight online. The IndiGo ground staff even refused to entertain that call saying that they were not required to answer to anyone," Tondaiman continued. "In the last two or three weeks, I have taken around 8-9 flights with my gun but the shift-in-charge this time refused to entertain it," he continued. "He directed me to bureaucratic procedures about how I was supposed to inform the airline three days in advance. But that is not something I have ever done while taking a flight. Moreover, the customer care assured me this would not be a problem and there are no guidelines mentioned on the website." After a direct intervention from the Sports Ministry was dismissed by the Ground staff, they facilitated a conversation with a high official from IndiGo who then tried to speed up matters. The gun permist issued by NRAI "My flight was at 12.30 last night and until 12, there was no movement from the ground staff," says Tondaiman. "After they refused to speak to the Sports Ministry's office, the MYAS got in touch with Mr Praveen Gupta- a General Manager with IndiGo who tried to set things right. That's when the ground staff took me seriously but by then, it was already too late. The gate closed at 12.15 and I was left back." Other alternative routes to travel to Qatar seem to be a far miss because almost every other airlines have fixed and clear procedures in place regarding the carrying on firearms on board. But as Tondaiman mentions, there was no such clarity provided by IndiGo whose customer care assured him that with valid papers, this should not be an issue. "Today was Training Day in Doha and I missed that. My event is tomorrow and I still have no clarity on how I will be getting there. Mr Praveen Gupta said that he was exploring the possibilities of an alternate flight but so far, there has been nothing," concluded the shooter.