Shooting: Commonwealth Games Federation ready to accept India's proposal

In an unexpected turn of events, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has written to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra welcoming the joint proposal of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on hosting a shooting competition in India, prior to the 2022 Birmingham Games.

Putting an end to the media speculation that such a championship could be held in India around the time of the Games, the CGF Chief Louise Martin sent out a letter to Batra on December 23 explicating the federation’s stand on the matter. This development comes after India hosting a shooting competition during Birmingham 2022 and allowing medals won at the event to be counted in the total Commonwealth Games tally was among the options being considered as part of plans to involve the sport at the event.

Earlier this year in the General Assembly, the CGF had announced the dropping of shooting from the 2022 CWG roster, while adding three other sports including the women’s T20 cricket. Shooting has always been one of India's top medal contributors in the Commonwealth Games, the dropping of which was believed to damage the country’s medal prospects to an extent. However, as a mark of protest, the IOA abstained from attending that General Assembly and pulled out its candidates for elections to a few posts.

Also read: Separate Commonwealth shooting event for India in 2022? Britain approves!

The CGF argued that since shooting is not among the core sports in CWG, and that the host country can exclude it from the roster of the Games. The sport yielded a total of 16 medals, including seven gold for India at the last edition of the event in Gold Coast. Shooting has been excluded from the Games roster for the first time since 1974. It was then believed that the CGF may be willing to incorporate shooting in some form after India threatened to boycott Birmingham 2022 in protest at the sport's omission from the programme. 

Batra exhibited a rigid stance suggesting that there is no point in the nation's shooters taking part in a Commonwealth Shooting Championship if the medals are not counted in India's Birmingham 2022 tally. In case the CGF concurs with the proposal put out by the IOA Chief, it will be seen as a major achievement for India at a time when the country’s shooters have been displaying the depth of talent time and again.