IOA chief Narinder Batra slams CWG saying it has no standard
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra strongly pitched for Indiaâs withdrawal from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and slammed the Games terming them sub-standard. He added that the Games should shut shop and stop wasting time if they donât have money to spend.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra strongly pitched for Indiaâs withdrawal from the 2022 edition in Birmingham by terming the Commonwealth Games (CWG) a sub-standard competition. India has been in talks of boycotting the Games over the axing of shooting from the competition but Batra sought to go beyond and stated that India should be competing at events of better quality in order to improve.
âI never used the word boycott. But my personal view, not the IOAâs, is that Commonwealth Games has no standard. We get 70, 100 medals in Commonwealth and when it comes to Olympics we get two medals. You have world Cups and other events where you can have better competition,â He said to the media on the sidelines of the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Earlier the CWG chief announced the snub of the shooting event from the Games in 2022 as the cost of the event is huge.
âIf CWG says it spent 22 million GBP (on Shooting at Glasgow 2014) and canât have it now because of money, please shut shop and call it quits. If you donât have money, why are you wasting time? Donât make it a joke,â Batra added.
Batra reiterated that this is not everyoneâs opinion but only his own. He believes it is a political decision and the IOA will meet with the government for their guidance.
Regarding the suspension of the National Dope Testing Laboratory, Batra stated that âthey were missing out in twoâ of the 50 parameters that were supposed to be followed. According to him, the issue must have been sorted by now but the revocation of the suspension is a lengthy process and âit will take 5-6 monthsâÂ
Batra has asserted confidence in India's Olympic athletes and looks forward to the Indian hockey team taking on Russia in November.Â
âRegarding those athletes and teams that are in my mind, I'm happy. We are only focusing on where the medal chances are and I can say I know 95 % of the athletes who are going. Hockey, we have to see what will happen on November 1 and 2 [against Russia],â he concluded.