New Delhi: The Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships, scheduled to be held in Chandigarh next year before the Birmingham Games, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision was taken by the Commonwealth Games India (CGI) Executive Board with the support of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
'We are disappointed that the 2022 Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships will no longer take place. However, this is the right decision to take in the current climate,” CGF president Dame Louise Martin said in a statement on Thursday.
'Despite this news, there are numerous key learnings that will benefit our ongoing work as we look to innovate and create new Commonwealth Sport Properties. The Chandigarh 2022 concept has identified exciting opportunities regarding future co-hosting possibilities that we must further explore,' she added.
Notably, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) expressed its disappointment and threatened to boycott the Games after shooting was left out of the programme for the Birmingham 2022 CWG in 2019.
But, following a visit by CGF President Martin and then CEO David Grevemberg, the IOA withdrew its warning during the Annual General Body Meeting in December 2019.
A decision was taken to hold a separate Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships and the medals at the event would have counted towards the final medal tally of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
However, the Championships has been cancelled now. The current COVID-19 situation in the country played a part, among other factors, in the cancellation of the event.
Archery had been held in only two Commonwealth Games editions (1982 and 2010) while shooting, traditionally one of India’s strongest sports, had been a constant fixture in the programme since 1974.
India has enjoyed considerable success in shooting at the Commonwealth Games - winning 16 medals in the 2018 edition at Gold Coast, Australia - while winning eight Commonwealth Games medals in archery in 2010 in New Delhi. (UNI)