Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra has written a letter to sports minister Kiren Rijiju seeking a meeting to explain the "proposed boycott".
India’s
threat to boycott the 2022
Commonwealth Games in Birmingham over shooting’s absence in the
programme has intensified after the country’s Olympic association
sought approval from the sports ministry for such a move.
Media
reports have cited a lack of suitable facilities as the reason behind
Birmingham’s decision to axe shooting which has featured at every
Games since 1966, with the exception of Edinburgh in 1970.
After
the decision was announced last year, the country’s shooting
federation suggested boycotting the Games which would not feature
what has been a high-yielding discipline for India.
Indian
Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra has written a
letter to sports minister Kiren Rijiju seeking a meeting to explain
the “proposed boycott”.
“We
want to express our protest by not taking part in 2022 CWG Games...”
Batra wrote in his letter to the minister seen by Reuters.
“We
have been noticing over a period of time that wherever India seems to
be getting grip on the game and performing well... either the goal
posts are shifted or rules are changed.”
“We
feel it is time for us in IOA/India to start asking tough questions
and start taking tough positions,” added Batra, also the president
of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Indian
shooters accounted for 16 of their 66 medals, including seven golds,
at last year’s Gold Coast Games where they finished third in the
medals table.
In
shooting’s absence, India would slip to anywhere between fifth to
eighth place in 2022, Batra wrote.
IOA
have decided to boycott the General Assembly of the Commonwealth
Games Federation (CGF) in Rwanda, also withdrawing candidatures of
two of its officials from the September elections there.
CGF
officials were not immediately available for comment.
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