The Indian Olympic Association on Thursday called the exclusion of shooting, wrestling and archery from the initial program of the 2026 Commonwealth Games a “grave injustice” to the country and said it would protest against this. decision after consulting the Ministry of Sports.
IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said the Olympic body will write a letter to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) within a day or two protesting the decision.
“It is a grave injustice to India, excluding shooting, wrestling and archery. Shooting and wrestling are our main sports at the CWG. We are protesting the decision and will write a letter to the CGF in a day or two,” Mehta told PTI.
“I will discuss the matter with the President of the IOA and then with the Ministry of Sports regarding the future course of action. »
Without shooting and wrestling, India’s CWG medal count will likely be reduced drastically.
Shooting has been India’s strongest sport at the Commonwealth Games with 135 medals (63 gold, 44 silver and 28 bronze) so far. Wrestling ranks third with 102 medals (43 gold, 37 silver and 22 bronze).
At the last CWG in Gold Coast (Australia) in 2018, shooting and wrestling had totaled 28 medals out of a total of 66 for the country.
Shooting yielded 16 medals (7 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze) while wrestling brought 12 (5 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze).
On Tuesday, Victoria was announced as the host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with regional centers across the Australian state hosting the majority of events breaking with the traditional single-host-city model.
An initial slate of 16 sports, including T20 cricket, has been proposed for the Games, with more sports to be added later this year.
If the Australian organizers want to exclude shooting, wrestling and archery from the Games, it will be difficult to reverse such a decision since the General Assembly of the CGF last October approved a new “strategic roadmap according to which athletics and swimming will be the only compulsory sports from the 2026 edition.
Host cities have been given greater freedom to include disciplines of their choice from a proposed core list of 22 sports. The basic roster includes shooting, wrestling, and archery, in addition to T20 cricket, beach volleyball, and 3×3 basketball.
In 2019, the AIO threatened to boycott the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games which will be held from July 28 to August 8 this year after filming was excluded from the program.
The threat was removed after the CGF agreed to hold a separate Commonwealth Shooting Championship (as well as a Commonwealth Archery Championship) in India, with medals from the event to be counted in the final classification of the Birmingham Games.
The shooting (along with archery) championship was due to be held in Chandigarh in January this year but was canceled due to the “uncertainty” posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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