Union minister for information and technology and communications, Ministry

Former world number one double trap shooter Ankur Mittal lashed out at the facilities of the Karni Singh shooting range for shotgun shooters and also criticised the criteria of awarding Khel Ratna on Thursday."I don't think the shotgun range is well maintained as the stations are in a terrible situation. They are building guest rooms, toilets but no attention is given to shooters stations. There should br proper facility for the shooters. Bhopal shooting range is much better but in Delhi, you can't say that it's a national level shotgun range," Mittal told .Mittal had won a gold medal in Double Trap event at 2018 ISSF World Shooting Championships at Changwon, South Korea. He also won a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships.In the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, he won a bronze medal in the Double Trap Shooting (Men) event. Last year, he was conferred with the Arjuna Award.The 27-year-old was nominated for Khel Ratna along with shooter Heena Sidhu but the latter won the award as per the suggestions by the Sports Ministry.According to Mittal, he deserved the award as he was way ahead of Sidhu in the points criteria followed for the award."I know my points were more than the player whom the award was given. It was not the fair decision taken by the Ministry as per their criteria for the award. I don't think there are more champions in the country like me. It was not a fair play, as the points system was not followed by the Ministry," Mittal said."I didn't expect that I will win gold in this competition but I had prepared well and followed my coach's guidance," he added.When asked about his view on India's proposal of boycotting Commonwealth Games 2022, Mittal said: "It is a drawback for shooters as well as Indian contingent for Commonwealth Games. In 2018 CWG, we got 17 medals and I think it in the next games it will be 30 per cent fewer medals if shooting will not be part of it. Ministry will not approve the boycott of CWG as the shooting was never a permanent sport in the CWG, it was a temporary game for a long time so people thought it was a permanent game in the CWG. I don't think we should boycott it for only one sport."( With inputs from ANI )

Union Minister For Information And Technology And CommunicationsFOLLOW

Union minister for information and technology and communications, Latest News

India and Thailand here on Thursday discussed ways to enhance physical and digital connectivity between them as well as identifying areas for cooperation in fields such as agriculture, science and technology, and information technology, the Ministry ...

State-run BSNL on Thursday said its revival plans are under active consideration of the government through VRS and 4G spectrum allocation. ...

With over 3.30 crore cases piled up in the Indian courts for disposal, the Narendra Modi-led government has finally instructed the Union Ministry of Law and Justice to "find out a way for reducing delays and arrears" in the country's justice system. ...

Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD), Smriti Ir, chaired the meeting of the fifth National Council on India's Nutrition Challenges here on Thursday and said that a humane solution has to be developed to tackle the menace of malnutritio ...

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced launching of 'Swacch Bharat programme on August 15, 2014, it was a major initiative towards fulfilling the dream of Mahatma Gandhi. ...

Conflict related violence in Afghstan in the past 12 months has claimed the lives of over 3,300 civilians and wounded 14,600 others, Afghan Ministry of Public Health said on Monday. ...

Former world number one double trap shooter Ankur Mittal lashed out at the facilities of the Karni Singh shooting range for shotgun shooters and also criticised the criteria of awarding Khel Ratna on Thursday. ...

Former world number one double trap shooter Ankur Mittal lashed out at the facilities of the Karni Singh shooting range for shotgun shooters and also criticised the criteria of awarding Khel Ratna on Thursday. ...