Reports | National Sports Federations distance themselves from para-athletes ahead of Tokyo 2020
Getty
The para-athletes of the nation could reportedly face a gruelling time months before the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics with more and more National Sports Federations, following the NRAI, abandoning them. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has, however, asked NRAI to continue supporting the para-athletes.
It all started when the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), owing to their continuous rift with the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), suddenly decided to remove the para-shooting events altogether from the Annual Competition and Training Calendar (ACTC).Â
They asked PCI to take overall responsibility of the para-athletes, citing the reason that it was an extreme logistical burden to keep conducting such events year in year out. And according to reports by TOI, the various NSFs have now decided to do the same.
Reports have emerged stating that certain national sports federations (NSFs), who had the mandate to organise the domestic competitions for para-athletes in various categories, have been looking to offload themselves from conducting para-sports events owing to the “financial overburdening of resources” and “complexities involved in organising tournaments”.
They have all demanded to pawn off such responsibilities to the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) to take charge of the organization and conduct tournaments for as well. However, with PCI protesting vehemently, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) was forced to intervene as they worked out a temporary arrangement asking NRAI to continue conducting para-shooting events until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.Â
However, while NRAI has agreed to this offer, it has been reported that no official commitments were made as such.
