New Delhi: Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra lashed out Tuesday at the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) for not coming to the aid of shooters, who were stranded at the IGI airport here after their ammunition was denied clearance for several hours.
“Saddened to hear that the national shooting team is detained at the IGI Airport with the customs refusing to clear their guns,” Bindra tweeted. He also said that the official team manager left the athletes ‘to fend for themselves’.
“Chatted with a few athletes and the lack of support coming through from the national federation is pathetic. @Raninder Singh @The Nrai,” Bindra said. “They are our countries ambassadors and should not be treated like this. Would this ever happen to our cricket team,” he asked.
The Indian shooters were left stranded at the airport here on their return from the World Cup in Cyprus. The team, which included the likes of Chain Singh, Gurpreet Singh and Kynan Chenai, had to wait for more than 10 hours before they were allowed to leave with their ammunition.
“Shooters held up at IGI airport for no valid reason or any fault of theirs. Dats d price we pay for always following the rules. Been 10 hrs now,” shooter Heena Sidhu who won a bronze in the 25 Air Pistol tweeted.
Former Olympian Anjali Bhagwat said such incidents are not new and blamed at the miscommunication between players and NRAI.
“Is this the way to treat our Olympians? This is mental torture before major tournaments. I know how bad it feels as this has happened before and I have also faced it,” Bhagwat tweeted.
PTI
