The Bangladesh government has approved its shooting contingent to travel to India for next month’s Asian Rifle and Pistol Championships, even as it declined to send its national cricket team to the country for the upcoming T20 World Cup, citing security concerns.
The continental shooting event will be held at the Dr Karni Singh Range in New Delhi from February 2 to 14 and is expected to feature more than 300 shooters from 17 countries.
Bangladesh will be represented by two rifle shooters competing in three events.
Speculation had emerged that Bangladesh might also withdraw from the shooting championships following its decision to skip the T20 World Cup, which will be held across venues in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8. However, the National Rifle Association of India confirmed that the Bangladeshi shooters will participate.
NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia said the association is in regular contact with Bangladesh federation officials and that the Ministry of External Affairs has cleared the visit, with the process forwarded to the Indian embassy for visas.
Bangladesh will field 21-year-old women’s shooter Arefin Shaira and 26-year-old Olympian Md Robiul Islam in the 10 metre air rifle events, including the mixed team competition.
According to a report in Dhaka’s Daily Sun, the Youth and Sports Ministry issued formal approval for the tour, stating that the indoor nature of the competition at a secure venue does not pose significant security risks.
Bangladesh had earlier withdrawn from the T20 World Cup after the Bangladesh Cricket Board raised security concerns. The International Cricket Council later confirmed Scotland as the replacement, maintaining there was no verifiable threat to the Bangladeshi team in India.