The 2022 Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships, which were scheduled to take place in India, have been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The decision, announced today by the executive board of the Commonwealth Games India body, was made “after careful consideration of several factors, including the continued uncertainty created by the pandemic," with the Commonwealth Games Federation in agreement.
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The Archery and Shooting Championships were launched as a concept in February 2020, after India had threatened to withdraw from next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, over the exclusion of shooting from the sports programme.
The CGF decided to put on a separate competition, in which medals would go towards tallies at Birmingham 2022, but which would not form an official part of the games.
Shooting has been part of every Commonwealth Games, except one, since 1966, and is a sport in which Indian athletes have traditionally excelled.
The event was to have taken place in Chandigarh, in the north of the country, but the continued spread of the virus has put paid to those plans.
Dame Louise Martin, president of the CGF, has said: “We are disappointed that the 2022 Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships will no longer take place, however, this is the right decision to take in the current climate.
“The Chandigarh 2022 concept has identified exciting opportunities regarding future co-hosting possibilities that we must further explore.”
The cancellation of the event follows the decision to relocate cricket's ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which was due to take place in India in October and November, to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, with the UAE also set to stage the climax of the Indian Premier League in September and October.
