Olympic quotas from Delhi assigned to Beijing WC

New Delhi: The two Olympic quotas in 25m air pistol that were taken away from the Delhi World Cup after India denied visas to Pakistani shooters were Wednesday assigned to the upcoming World Cups in Beijing and Munich.

The Beijing World Cup is scheduled from April 21 to 28, while the Munich showpiece is set for May 24 to 31, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) said in a statement.

"The decision has been taken on reallocation of two Olympic Quota Places in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event that were revoked during the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi in February, 2019," the ISSF said.

"They are reassigned among the ISSF World Cup in Beijing, April 21-28, 2019 and the ISSF World Cup in Munich, May 24-31, 2019. It means, there will be three Olympic Quota Places in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event allocated to each of the World Cups in Beijing and Munich," it added.

Pakistani shooters were denied visas in the Delhi event in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack in which more than 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

Two Pakistani shooters – GM Bashir and Khalil Ahmed – were expected to compete in the rapid fire pistol category.

The denial of visas and the subsequent withdrawal of quotas led to a furore with the International Olympic Committee stepping in and halting communication with India on hosting on future events.

The IOC also asked other international federations to avoid awarding events to the country, following which India ended up losing the hosting rights of the Asian junior wrestling championships, junior Davis Cup and the junior Fed Cup.