ISSF World Championships: Top pistol shooter removed due to 'minor scuffle', claims father

Ankait Tomar Indias leading centrefire pistol shooter was removed from the ISSF World Championshipsbound Indian contingent a week before its departure Tomar 21 came to know about his exclusion on August 7 when he did not find the details of his weapons or his name on the list of shooters leaving for Baku in AzerbaijanThe World Championships which commenced on August 14 will conclude on September 1Tomars father claimed his son had a minor scuffle during the ISSF World Junior Championships in Changwon South Korea in July The shooter from Sonepat had won the team gold in the 50m pistol along with Kamaljeet and Sandeep Bishnoi in ChangwonWhen Tomar tried to find out the reason for his exclusion from the contingent for the prestigious ongoing World Championships in Baku the National Rifle Association NRAI told him You have been informed that you will not be allowed to participate in any competition till the final decision of the NRAI disciplinary committee is takenTomar pleaded with the NRAI to expedite the disciplinary committee hearing saying Its my future in question I request you to please take a decision tomorrow as very little time is left for the team departing for BakuI want to play in Baku as this is my future and I am performing my best you can check my scores Tomar wrote in his email to NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia a copy of which is with PTIThe shooter has been served a showcause notice by the NRAI but Tomar father Davinder Tomar said his son is yet to be called for a hearing leaving him disturbed and anxious about his future in shootingTomar has mentioned two incidents in his letter to NRAI where he erred on the disciplinary side in ChangwonAlso Read Amanpreet wins gold in 25m standard pistolIn his apology letter he wrote The incident was that we decided to go to a restaurant in Changwon and after coming back from there Unish said I spent a lot of money we said him dont shout speak slowly In irritation he pushed me Ive noticed he often takes action in aggression and it was exchange of words There was a little bit of manhandling Unish got overaggressive and we just did out of self defence wrote Tomar in his reply to NRAI sicAfter the fight we all 4 friends apologised to each other and sort out the matter after that we stayed together sicTomar further wrote that he was not at all involved in the second incident In the other incident that happened was in my room When I came back from dinner and entered my room there were two girls sitting along with my room partner and then in one corner I sit in the chair and started using my phone In that case I only saw that 56 shooters came in the room and two of them started fightingI havent been in between them or say anything or touched anyone there was an issue in my payment thats why I was busy in my phone and was not able to see the full incident Tomar wroteA coach accompanying the team too has resigned in the wake of the incident for standing up to defend my son according to DavinderThe said coach however denied it saying it was routine for different coaches to go with different teams on international assignments and me not being there on the list of coaches accompanying the contingent to Baku doesnt mean I will not be called back by NRAI in futureIt was a minor disciplinary issue for which my son is having to pay such a big price of being removed from the World Championships contingent He is the countrys No1 centrefire pistol shooter and had he gone he could have won a gold medal We only came back from Baku with a bronze medal said DavinderThe coach accompanying the team too has resigned because he tried to reason with NRAI that it was a minor incident They are still kids and can make mistakes But the quantum of punishment is far too big for such a minor offense My son is ranked No1 in centrefire in the country Now the centrefire team which has returned from Baku has only won a bronze he saidMy child has confided in me and said yes I have committed a mistake but its a very small offense We have no mail from NRAI when the hearing will take place He is only in the sport because he wants to perform He doesnt want anything elseJust one week before the departure of the team for Baku Ankait Tomar was informed he will not be part of the contingent It has shattered his morale added DavinderNRAI secretarygeneral Sultan Singh confirmed Tomar was removed from the Bakubound team saying discipline has to be the core basic parameter for going ahead or taking ahead the Indian flag At times we get stuck with this kind of rowdyism andyou know the kids are there their age is volatileIn one incident they ran with BB guns and it was all video recorded in the hotel So the hotel staff got totally rattledguntoting people running around that got scary said SinghBB guns are gascharged and though they look real and even sound real they are not actual gunsThey shooters were playing around with those BB guns in the gallery and being video recorded and security issuesrake up the issue that there are people with guns hanging around and it becomes a security issue for them hotel added SinghThen playing loud music Then these players come from villages this is their first visit abroad so they want to see the city exploreAsked if a lenient view could have been taken in Tomars case Singh said When it crosses the line I have to take a very stern issue Straightaway it can reflect on the entire India teamWith PTI inputs