NRAI gets interim relief, ISSF 2020 World Cup may still be held in Delhi

The International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) has, for now, accepted the National Rifle Association of India’s (NRAI) request to host the 2020 World Cup in Delhi. The NRAI had requested for some time in order to comply with the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after the incident during the ISSF Shooting World Cup in February, at Delhi.

"We had asked for the time (to comply with the Olympic Charter) and we got it," said the NRAI President Raninder Singh, reported TOI. The Punjab Chief Minister’s son is also the first Indian ISSF Vice President.

"Since the IOC decision is not limited to shooting, the guarantee must come from the government through the IOA," added the 51 year old. 

The World Cup was supposed to act as the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, two Pakistani shooters G.M. Bashir and Khalil Ahmed, who were to take part in the 25-metre rapid fire pistol category, were denied visas by the Indian government in the wake of the Pulwama attack. This made the ISSF scrap two of the 16 Olympic quota places in the tournament.

This was a huge blow for India as even the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had suspended India from hosting all future Olympic-related events until the government had issued a guarantee. This has already cost India dearly, as earlier this month, the World Wrestling Federation had shifted the Junior Asian Championships from India to Thailand.