Disappointed at shooting axe, IOA says pulling out of 2022 CWG cannot be ruled out

Disappointed at the dropping of shooting from the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the Indian Olympic Association Friday said it will not be averse to taking an unprecedented step, including pulling out of the multi-sporting event.

The Commonwealth Games Federation on Thursday left out shooting from the 2022 Birmingham Games in its Executive Board meeting while recommending the inclusion of three new sports.

Former sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had last year written to his British counterpart as well to the CGF President, urging them to intervene and ensure that the sport remains a part of the 2022 edition.

The CGF, however, had left it to the host nation, in this case England, to decide the fate of shooting, which has always been an optional sport.

The decision to leave out shooting has dealt a big blow to India which had won as many as 16 medals out of 66 in the 2018 Gold Coast CWG, and the IOA said that pulling out of the Games altogether cannot be ruled out.

"Shooting is a big sport in India and for many shooters CWG is a stepping stone to Olympics two years later. It is a big setback for shooting as well as Indian sport as a whole. We have made representations to the CGF, and the government has also done that, but still shooting has been left out," IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta told PTI.

"We know it is difficult now to overturn the CGF decision but all is not lost still. We have one month's time (before the inclusion of new sports is voted by all the 71 CGF members). The IOA Executive Council will take a decision within the next two weeks and we are not averse to taking a major decision," he added.

Asked if the IOA could even contemplate pulling out of the 2022 Birmingham CWG, Mehta said, "That cannot be ruled out. We can even go to that extent."