The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has requested emergency access to the vaccine this weekend for the roughly 300 technicians who will be involved in organizing the Shooting World Cup in New Delhi next month.
Top NRAI officials are known to have held talks with the sports and health ministries on Monday. In their letter, the shooting force has requested that the first dose be administered on February 18 and 19, which will give them enough time to receive the second jab before the World Cup, which kicks off at the Dr. Karni Singh on March 18. The tournament will be held for rifle, pistol and shotgun events.
“The technical staff includes people who will participate in the organization of the World Cup, engineers, officials from the Sports Authority of India and others… there will be approximately 300 of them,” said an official from NRAI. “Many of these people will come to the field every day from their home. And in the range, they will be interacting with hundreds of people from other countries. So, to protect them and everyone who will come into contact, we have requested a vaccination campaign for them ”.
The Shooting World Cup will be one of the biggest events to be held in India since the outbreak of the pandemic, in terms of the number of countries and athletes participating. According to the NRAI, shooters from 42 countries have submitted entries for the first World Cup of the year, which could not be held last year due to the pandemic. In 2019, the same event had attracted 500 shooters from 60 countries.
India has appointed a 57-member team in full force. The Chinese powerhouse and Olympics hosts Japan have opted out of the tournament, along with Russia, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, among others. However, major European nations, including Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom and France, host of the 2024 Olympics, along with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and traditional heavyweights such as the United States and Iran have confirmed their participation.
The World Cup will be one of the few tournaments that Indian shooters are expected to take part in this year in the run-up to the Tokyo Games in July and August. The Indian shooters had been in good shape throughout 2019, dominating the World Cups in rifle and pistol events.
Amid fierce domestic competition, the selection for the Olympic team could hinge on his performance during the World Cup in New Delhi. While the Tokyo Olympics test event, which was scheduled to take place April 25-30, was also canceled, India withdrew from the World Cup in Changwon, South Korea, in April due to harsh 14-day quarantine there. further limit match practice for the Indian team before the Games.
14 days for British
Incidentally, the 14-member British team that will participate in the New Delhi World Cup will also be subject to a strict 14-day quarantine upon arrival in the capital. The rule is applicable only to British shooters, an NRAI official said, due to the variant of the virus found there.
“They have been informed that for the tournament starting on March 18, they will have to arrive in Delhi on March 4 and be quarantined accordingly. A whole floor has been reserved for them in a hotel near the field and they will bear their own expenses, ”said an NRAI official.
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