Indian archers miss game, forfeit match

archery

The Indian archery team, which is currently in Gwangju, South Korea, was due to play Italy at their match at the World University Games for a potential bronze medal. The men's compound team, comprising Gurwinder Singh, Kanwalpreet Singh and Aman did not arrive at the venue at reporting time, which was 10 a.m. local time.

Chris Wells, chairman of the World Archery association, said in a statement that the team were not present. Under tournament regulations, he said, any team that fails to turn up for a final match (in this case, for third place) automatically forfeits the game, which was the case with the Indian archers.

Moving the blame from the Archery Association of India (AAI), its secretary Anil Kamineni said in a statement that as the team were sent to South Koren by the Association of Indian Universities, they did not fall under the aegis of the AAI and was not related to them. However, he said that an investigation was underway regardless, as several Indian archers had been part of the team.

It was alleged the team were sightseeing and this was the reason they missed their game, but coach Jiwanjot Singh denied this, instead saying the cause of their delay and ultimate forfeiture was equipment malfunction. He says one of the players’ bows broke, and the team needed to return to their hotel to get a spare.

The team returned to their accommodation to borrow them from the women’s team, says Singh, and returned “only two minutes after the start time.” He alleges authorities did not allow the team to participate following this.

A probe is currently on.

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Edited by Staff Editor