Boycotts make you irrelevant and punish other athletes, argues Abhinav Bindra
Contradicting the Indian Olympic Association’s stunning move to boycott the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Abhinav Bindra has argued that it wouldn’t be the right way to move forward. The IOA has protested against dropping shooting from the event and even wrote a letter to Kiren Rijiju.
Bindra has opined that the IOA should much rather look for ways to campaign and put shooting in the CWG 2022 rather than boycotting the tournament altogether as it would achieve nothing and only be punishing the other athletes.
“Boycotts don’t win you influence. They just make you irrelevant and punish other athletes. Would be far better if IOA did a campaign to load the CWG committees with their people and allies and push for the inclusion of shooting onto the core list of sports for the future,” Bindra wrote on Twitter.
It was on Saturday that the IOA had proposed the boycott and even sought the government’s approval by writing a letter to Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju. With shooting being an optional sport in the CWG, the Common Games Federation has taken the decision that it would be the host nation’s prerogative to include the sport or not.
IOA president Narinder Batra’s letter to the sports ministry, as reported by PTI, read, “We have been noticing over a period of time that wherever India seems to be getting grip of the game and performing well, then somehow we find that either the goal posts are shifted or rules are changed. We feel it is time for us in IOA/India to start asking tough questions and start taking tough positions.”
The proceedings took place after IOA pulled out of the Commonwealth Games Federation’s (CGF) General Assembly, which has been scheduled to be held in Rwanda in September. Sunday also saw the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) coming in support of IOA’s proposal.
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