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Indian organizers of the ongoing World Shooting Para Sports (WSPS) Para Shooting World Cup faced a major embarrassment on Thursday, March 14. The 'flash targets' available for use in the trap finals were deemed unfit by the international jury at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, as per PTI reports.
This is the first occasion that India is hosting the prestigious WSPS Para Shooting World Cup. Prior to the final of the trap event, the jury members inspected the 'flash targets', also known as 'clay pigeons', and found them to be of poor quality.
The final went ahead, as flash targets are not mandatory for the event. However, as per convention, they are used for finals while normal targets are used in earlier rounds.
The 'targets' are the objects released in the air that the shooters aim to hit in trap events. Flash targets are specially made to explode with the release of a pink smoke. This makes it easier for both judges and spectators to recognize a successful shot.
Speaking to PTI, a range official explained the sequence of events.
"The juries asked us to remove all the stacked flash targets from the machines and replace them with ordinary targets which are used in the qualification round," the official said.
"It created a lot of commotion... A total of 25-30 range officials and anybody who knew something about trap shooting immediately sprung into action and we completed the job in 10 minutes. The competition began on time," he added.
As per another source close to the event, who spoke to PTI, the judges didn't file an official complaint because India is hosting this event for the first time.
However, the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range has been the venue for several top-tier international tournaments in the past. The shooting events of the 2010 Commonwealth Games were also held at this venue.
NRAI refutes claims of 'poor quality' flash targets
Due to the discarding of the flash targets, focus shifted to the body that supplied them to the organizers. The flash targets were bought by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
When contacted by PTI, the NRAI asserted that the targets provided by them were fit for use.
Rajiv Bhatia, secretary of NRAI, claimed that the body hasn't received any complaints.
"Nobody has reported anything to us... Of course, they have bought the targets from us. These are delicate and breakable commodities. How they were handled during transportation I don't know."
Bhatia also assured that the same targets are also being used for national events. The onus now shifts on PCI to clarify whether the transportation and handling of these clay pigeons was up to the mark.
