NRAI bows down to Abhinav Bindra's pressure

New Delhi, Jan 18 (PTI) After creating a furore by
threatening to quit, Abhinav Bindra had his way with the
shooting establishment Monday agreeing to consider the Olymic
hero's international scores for inclusion in the team for the
third and fourth World Cups to be held later this year.

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), however,
made it clear that Abhinav's inclusion in the first and second
edition of the mega-event and the Commonwealth Shooting
Championships was out of question as the squads for the three
events have already been approved by the Indian Sports
Ministry.
NRAI has also requested the Indian Olympic Association
president Suresh Kalmadi to intervene and sort out the issue,
which created a flutter after the Beijing Olympic Games
gold-medallist expressed his desire to quit.
"Being the IOA president, we have asked Mr Kalmadi to
talk to Bindra and settle the matter. We have called his
father A S Bindra for a meeting tomorrow and asked him to
bring Abhinav's international scores alongwith him," NRAI
secretary-general Baljeet Singh Sethi told reporters here.
"But Abhinav's selection in the first and second World
Cup and Commonwealth Shooting Championships is impossible. We
will consider his international scores for the next two World
Cups.
"The teams have already been selected and the government
has also given its approval, so we can't make any changes
right now," he added. PTI SSC


India's first and only individual Olympic gold medalist
Abhinav is upset at being repeatedly asked to appear in trials
and feels NRAI should instead accept his scores in tournaments
abroad for selection.
However, the Sports Ministry later deviated from its set
norms and said any selection process that leaves out the best
talents is faulty and it would have no issues if the NRAI
exempts Abhinav from trials.
Abhinav, who has been training aboroad, has not been
included in the Indian squads for next month's Commonwealth
Shooting Championships to be held here as well as the ISSF
World Cups in Sydney from March 20-28 and in Beijing from
April 16-25 as he failed to turn up for the selection trials.
However, after the recent controversy the NRAI decided to
exempt the ace shooter from attending the trials for the next
two World Cups to be held in Fort Benning, USA from May 22-31
and in Belgrade from June 26-July 7.
Asked whether Abhinav's exemption from trials would set a
bad precedent, Sethi said, "Obviously, if we exempt Abhinav
from trials other shooters will also demand such exemption in
future.
"But when the government is us asking to do that, we
can't do anything. We will have to sit with the ministry
officials and work on this issue." PTI SSC