Manu Bhaker recently won three golds and two silvers at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.© AFP
Pistol ace Manu Bhaker on Monday said that the Indian team should consider boycotting the Commonwealth Games to protest the removal of shooting from the roster. In a huge shock to India, shooting as well as wrestling and archery have been dropped from the initial list of sports for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Australia. Shooting, in which India has played well since the 2002 edition in Manchester, will also not be part of the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Victoria in Australia has been awarded the right to host the 2026 Olympics.
“I think the Indian team should consider boycotting the Commonwealth Games to make a bold statement. Excluding shooting is unfair. It seems like we are being taken for granted.” Bhaker told PTI.
“It’s not fair. Shooting was also dropped for CWG 2022, but then it was felt that it was a big no-no, but now it doesn’t seem to be the case,” said the medal-winning athlete. Gold Youth Olympics and CWG added.
The Olympics are scheduled to take place in March 2026 in multiple cities, including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland.
She said pulling out of the CWG would send a strong signal.
Bhaker recently won three golds and two silvers at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany.
Promote
In the previous edition, Indian shooters won 16 medals.
In October last year, the Commonwealth Sports Federation General Assembly adopted a new ‘strategic road map’ whereby athletics and swimming would be the only compulsory sports from the session. 2026 edition.
Topics covered in this article
