Shooting was left out of the 2022 Commonwealth Games programme on Thursday, dealing a big blow to India which won as many as 16 medals, including seven gold, at the 2018 edition in Gold Coast.
The Executive Board of the Commonwealth Games Federation(CGF) met and approved the inclusion of women’s cricket, beach volleyball andpara table tennis into the Games programme for the Birmingham edition.
The inclusion of these three sports will now need to beratified by 51 percent of the CGF members next month.
“Our recommendation of adding women’s cricket, beachvolleyball and Para table tennis is the result of a thorough review and webelieve these sports would help us to enhance the existing programme and reachnew audiences, while showcasing the sports to our local community, spectatorsand fans across the world, watching on TV,” said Ian Reid, CEO ofBirmingham 2022.”It’s also a selection that could helpensure that the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be the most inclusive in history,with a potential for the largest ever para-sports programme and more femalemedallists than ever before, representing a great story not just for Birmingham2022, but for women’s sport in general,” he added.