India's pistol ace Manu Bhaker said that the Indian team should consider boycotting the Commonwealth Games (CSG) in protest against the dropping of shooting from their official sports roster. Along with shooting, archery and wrestling were also dropped from the initial list of sports for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Shooting, which has been a source of medals for India since the 2002 edition in Manchester, England, is not going to be a part of the upcoming 2022 CWG in Birmingham as well. The Birmingham games are slated to kick off on Thursday, July 28. Meanwhile, Victoria in Australia has been awarded hosting rights for the 2026 edition of the Games.
The young shooter believes that withdrawing from the CWG will send a strong signal. In the previous edition, Indian shooters won 16 medals.
"I think the Indian team should consider boycotting the Commonwealth Games to make a bold statement. Exclusion of shooting is not fair. It looks like we are being taken for granted," Bhaker told PTI in an interview.
"It is not fair. Shooting was dropped for the 2022 CWG too, but then, it was felt that it was a one-off thing, but now it seems that is not the case," the Youth Olympics and CWG gold medallist added.
The Games are scheduled to take place in March 2026 across multiple cities, including Melbourne, Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, and Gippsland.
Bhaker recently won three gold and two silver medals in ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. She also participated in the Tokyo Olympics, which were held in Tokyo, Japan in 2021, but failed to secure a medal for India.
The Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly had approved in October last year a new 'strategic roadmap' under which athletics and swimming will be the only compulsory sports from the 2026 edition.
