New Delhi, Feb 24 India will be hosting the Commonwealth Shooting and Archery Championships in January 2022. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), in a media release on Monday, said that medals from the two events will be counted for "ranking of competing nations" at the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in Birmingham later that year.
The two events will be held in Chandigarh in January 2022 while the Birmingham Commonwealth Games are scheduled from July 27 to August 7 later that year.
However, the medals at the event will be added to the final tally one week after the conclusion of the Birmingham Games.
"A Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships is set to take place in India in 2022 after a proposal to stage the event was approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Executive Board which took placed in London from February 21-23," said CGF.
"One week following the closing ceremony of Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the CGF shall issue a medal table that includes results from the Chandigarh 2022 Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships, as a further and final legitimate ranking of competing nations and territories from the respective competitions," the CGF added.
Last year, India had threatened to boycott the Birmingham Commonwealth Games over shooting's omission and decided to submit a formal proposal to host a shooting championship, where the medals won will be taken into consideration in the tally of the 2022 edition of the CWG.
However, following a visit by CGF President Louise Martin and CEO David Grevemberg in November last year, the IOA withdrew its warning and proposed to host Commonwealth Championships in shooting, as well as in archery, in 2022 with the condition that the medals awarded in these two events should be recognised in the final tally of the participating countries for the 2022 CWG.
The government had also approved "in principle" the IOA's proposal to host the Commonwealth shooting championships and archery events.
Following the approval, Martin said he was delighted that the CGF have approved India's "ambitious" proposal.
"Commonwealth archery and shooting athletes now have an unprecedented opportunity to compete in an elite event that will showcase the very best of Commonwealth Sport and add value to the Commonwealth Sports Movement.
"The CGF would like to thank the CGI, the NRAI, the Government of India and the entire sporting community of India on the significant efforts they have taken to submit an innovative proposal with the ambition of strengthening Commonwealth Sport," he added.
( With inputs from IANS )