Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra on Sunday said he is not in favour of boycotting the 2022 Commonwealth Games, instead urging the Indian Olympic Association to work towards getting shooting included as a core sport in CWG programme.
In an unprecedented move, the IOA on Saturday proposedboycott of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games for dropping shooting fromthe roster, and sought the government’s approval through a letter to SportsMinister Kiren Rijiju.
However, former world champion Bindra, who also claimed ahistoric gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, thinks such a move will notwin India “influence”.
“Boycotts don’t win you influence. They just make youirrelevant and punish other athletes. Would be far better if IOA did a campaignto load the CWG committees with their people and allies and push for theinclusion of shooting onto the core list of sports for the future,” Bindrawrote on his Twitter handle.
Shooting is an optional sport in the CWG and the CGF hastaken the position that it was the host nation’s prerogative whether to includethe sport or not.
In a letter to Rijiju, the IOA president Narinder Batrarequested him for an early meeting to deliberate on the proposal.
“We have been noticing over a period of time thatwherever India seems to be getting grip of the game and performing well, thensomehow we find that either the goal posts are shifted or rules are changed. Wefeel it is time for us in IOA/India to start asking tough questions and starttaking tough positions,” Batra wrote in his letter.
The development came a day after the IOA pulled out of theCommonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) General Assembly, to be held in Rwanda inSeptember, protesting the dropping of shooting from the 2022 CWG roster.
On Sunday, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI)said it supports the IOA’s proposal to boycott the 2022 CWG.Reacting to the IOA’s proposal to boycott theGames, the Commonwealth Games Federation said it “absolutely” wantsIndia to participate in the 2022 Birmingham CWG.