To assuage India’s concern over non-inclusion of shooting at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Britain has asked the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and British Shooting to consider hosting a separate event for the sport in 2022. India has been protesting the exclusion of shooting from the 2022 CWG and has even threatened to boycott the Games over the issue. In a bid to placate the Indian sports administrators, British sports minister Nigel Adams, has been in contact with “both the Commonwealth Games Federation and British Shooting to see if some common ground could be found on the matter.”
Replying to a letter by India’s sports minister Kiren Rijiju to his British counterpart on concerns over the exclusion of shooting at Birmingham, British secretary for digital, culture, media and sports, Nicky Morgan, wrote: “While the decision (to include shooting in CWG) ultimately rests with the Birmingham 2022 Organising Committee and the CGF, the government understands the strength of feeling in the matter.”
Morgan’s correspondence to Rijiju added that Adams “has asked that CGF and British Shooting to consider the options to host a separate Commonwealth shooting event in the UK in 2022.” Morgan further said: “I hope this could provide a means for a shooting event to be held outside of the Commonwealth Games, which will allow Indian shooters to compete in the UK in 2022.”
The UK sports secretary also said that since shooting was not a core sports under the CGF constitution, and was not included in the original bid that was accepted by CGF in 2017, a comprehensive review was carried out by the Birmingham Games organisers looking at possibility of adding additional sports following interests and support from different quarters.
“The review was fair and transparent and conducted as an open tender review process” she wrote, “Key criteria were set, written submission were made to the assessment panel, which consisted of representatives from Birmingham 2022 OC, DCMS, Birmingham City Council and Commonwealth Games England by representatives of each sports. The panel offered the shooting community to explore options for a partial or wholly Birmingham-based option, delivering some disciplines outside of Bisley. However, the International Shooting Federation, the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Association and British Shooting decided against submitting a proposal if it could not include all four disciplines at Bisley.”
