India firms up threat to boycott Commonwealth Games for shooting exclusion

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.

Business Standard

Dronacharya awardee C A Kuttappa takes over as India's chief boxing coach

The 39-year-old Kuttappa is credited with shaping some of the country's most successful boxers such as Vijender Singh, M Suranjoy Singh and Shiva Thapa among others.

Dronacharya awardee C A Kuttappa has taken over as India's chief boxing coach at the ongoing national camp from which star pugilist Vikas Krishan (75kg) was left out following his professional plunge.

The 39-year-old Kuttappa, credited with shaping some of the country's most successful boxers such as Vijender Singh, M Suranjoy Singh and Shiva Thapa among others, took over from veteran coach S R Singh at the beginning of the camp which started December 10. Singh has now retired.

"It's such a huge responsibility but I am trying to do my best. I have a few plans and hopefully, I will be able to execute them," Kuttappa, who was an assistant coach, told PTI.

The Army man said his elevation was High Performance Director Santiago Nieva's idea.

"He asked me if I was interested. I sought some time because I needed to think it over. I am not most senior is terms of age and that was playing on my mind. I told this to Santiago and he told me I shouldn't be bothered about it," the former National Games gold-medallist from Karnataka said.

His first major assignment would be the second edition of the India Open scheduled in January in Guwahati.

"Earlier it used to be more about pumping up my boys but now I am going to be directly responsible for their performance. So, I know the pressure is going to be huge but I hope I can deliver," he said.

Kuttappa is just one of the two coaches from the Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), the reigning national champions, in the camp and the line-up is dominated by coaches from the Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB).

RSPB's representation in the coaches' list is five -- the long-serving Jaydev Bisht, Lalit Prasad, Jai Singh Patil, Jitender Kumar and Jagdip Hooda.

"Although SSCB is the reigning national champion, their representation is just two. Are the coaches selected from RSPB or for that matter Sports Authority of India (SAI) really the only ones available?," said a source in the federation.

It is learnt that the Sports Ministry has already sought an explanation on the criteria for selecting assistant coaches, from the Boxing Federation of India.

As for the boxers in the camp, Vikas, a Commonwealth Games gold-medallist and Asian Games bronze-winner this year, is the most notable omission following his decision to sign up with American promoter Bob Arum.

Also not there in the list is CWG-medallist Manoj Kumar, who is currently undergoing rehabilitation for a few long-standing niggles.

"I have a month to be fully fit. After that, I will undergo a trial and if all goes well, I will be there when the fresh camp starts," Manoj said.

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Asian Games 2018: I ran with closed eyes, says Dutee Chand after silver win

Dutee Chand was dropped from India's Commonwealth Games contingent in 2014 after being rendered ineligible to compete as a female athlete due to hyperandrogenism policy of IAAF.

Unable to stop smiling after crying for years, Dutee Chand was sprinting with her "eyes closed" until she had ushered in a new dawn, healing an old wound on the way.

Dropped from India's Commonwealth Games contingent in 2014 after being rendered ineligible to compete as a female athlete due to hyperandrogenism policy of the world athletics body (IAAF), the last four years of her life have not been easy for the 22-year-old Odisha athlete.

Allowed to race again after being cleared by the Court of Arbitration (CAS), Dutee on Sunday achieved the biggest success of her career.

"2014 was very a bad year for me. People said many things abut me. The same girl today came back and won a medal for the country, it is really big achievement for me," Dutee said after winning a silver medal in the women's 100m at the Asian Games.

The desperation to achieve something big, to make up for the opportunities lost, was palpable as she spoke about her effort.

"In the semifinals, the first 20 metres, I did not push much and coach pointed out that 'you have to make a better beginning. So in the final, I rushed the first 40 metres. I was running with eyes closed, whether medal comes or not, I wanted to better my timing.

"When I opened my eyes, the race was over. I did not know what has happened. People said you have won a medal, but I did not believe, I did not pick flag until I saw the result on display screen."

Dutee could not stop smiling after the win.

ALSO READ: Asian Games 2018: Dutee Chand gets praise, cash award for her silver win

"It is my biggest medal, I am already 22 and I had never participated at Asian Games before because of hyperandrogenism. It was Olympic for me, I trained for six hours in a session for this."

Dutee had become only the third Indian to qualify for the women 100m event at the Rio Olympics. She had timed 11.69 but did not make it to the final.

The Athletic Federation of India and IAAF' faced flak for violating Dutee's privacy and human rights. She appealed to the CAS and in July 2015, it issued a decision to suspend the hyperandrogenism regulation for female track and field sports for two years.

It found that there was insufficient evidence to indicate that there is any link between enhanced androgen levels and improved athletic performance.

The court gave two more years to IAAF to present convincing evidence and if it is not provided within the deadline, the regulation will be automatically revoked.

Dutee's silver came in 11.32 seconds, the same timing with which she had won gold at the National Games. However, it was slower than her own national record (11.29).

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