NRAI cuts tie with para shooters with one year left for Tokyo Paralympics

NRAI cuts tie with para shooters with one year left for Tokyo Paralympics

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The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has decided to remove all the para-athletes from its programme of all the competitions, which also included the national championships with immediate effect. There has been a blame game going on between NRAI and the Paralympic Committee of India.

Citing that there has always been a spate organization, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), to organize events for the para shooters, NRAI has decided that they won’t be associated with the para shooters anymore leaving the players without a roadmap with less than a year for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games qualification. 

“Since there is a separate organisation (Paralympic Committee of India), which controls shooting activities, including selection of teams for Para World Cups/Para World Championship/Para Olympic Games, it was removing para matches from its curriculum,” stated the NRAI’s governing body, which met in New Delhi on Tuesday, reported HT.

However, the NRAI has been hosting and scheduling events for the para shooters for at least 25 years and also as many as 280 para shooters participating during the last shooting nationals and such a move would be calamitous. PCI technical committee chairman for shooting, JP Nautiyal has termed this decision as shocking.

“The decision had come as shock” and “more than 400 para shooters competing in 13 categories based on the level of disability were now staring at an uncertain future,” said he.

However, NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia has explained how the para-athletic championships is a huge logistical project requiring immense manpower, something the NRAI wouldn’t be able to do anymore. He also weighed the pros and cons of hosting such events and risking publicity if something went wrong. 

“No para shooter will compete at the National Championships in Bhopal (November-December). The PCI had placed a request with us to also hold state- and zonal-level championships, which was not feasible as a lot of states don’t have facilities such as elevators and ramps for special needs of para shooters. Then, there is this fear of getting negative publicity in the event of certain facilities not being available for the para shooters’ special needs. Why should NRAI gets a bad name?”

He gave the example of the 2018 National Championships—Thiruvananthapuram—where the shooters had to be carried to the first-floor shooting range as there were no elevators.

“The members also said that since the authority to shortlist teams for international tournaments wrested with the PCI, why should we do the groundwork, such as hold trials, involve our technical staff and manpower?” Bhatia asked.

“Another problem faced by NRAI is that the number of matches is so large in the para category that it far outnumbers the matches for able-bodied shooters,” he said. “In rifle shooting itself, there are about 24 medal events. Our officials are also not well-versed with para rules and categories giving rise to disputes. We ask the PCI to send a technical official to sort these issues but they don’t send anyone,” he added.

Nautiyal has countered that the NRAI should have given PCI enough time to set up the infrastructure as the sudden stalling if events would stunt the growth of para shooting in the country. 

“The NRAI should have given us some time to at least to set up an infrastructure. They (NRAI) were doing it for so many years. This will stall the pace of growth of para shooting in the country. Now, to hold competitions, we will have to do lot of groundwork. We do not have funds either. Shooters have won four quota places for 2020 Tokyo.”

However, the biggest blow for the para shooters would that they won’t be able to import arms and ammunition as NRAI has the sole licensing rights for that. “That could spell the end of para shooting,” said Nautiyal.

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