Shooter Tomar removed from World contingent because of 'minor scuffle', claims father

New Delhi: Top pistol shooter Ankait Tomar was removed from the Indian contingent bound for the ISSF World Championships in Baku a week before its departure because of a "minor scuffle with a fellow shooter", said his father on Sunday.

Tomar, 21, a leading centre-fire pistol shooter in the country, came to know about his exclusion on August 7 when he did not find the details of his weapons or his name on the list of shooters leaving for Baku in Azerbaijan.

The World Championships, which commenced on August 14, will conclude on September 1. Tomar had a "minor scuffle" during the ISSF World Junior Championships in Changwon, South Korea in July and had to pay the price for it. The shooter from Sonepat had won the team gold in 50m pistol along with Kamaljeet and Sandeep Bishnoi in Changwon.

When Tomar tried to find out the reason for his exclusion from the contingent for the prestigious ongoing World Championships in Baku, the National Rifle Association (NRAI) told him that, "You have been informed that you will not be allowed to participate in any competition, till the final decision of the (NRAI) disciplinary committee is taken." Tomar pleaded with the NRAI to expedite the disciplinary committee hearing saying, "It's my future (in) question. I request you to please take a decision tomorrow as very little time is left (for the team departing for Baku).

"I want to play in Baku as this is my future and I am performing my best, you can check my scores," Tomar wrote in his e-mail to NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia, a copy of which is with PTI. The shooter has been served a show-cause notice by the NRAI, but Tomar’s father Davinder Tomar said his son is yet to be called for a hearing, leaving him "disturbed" and "anxious about his future in shooting". Tomar has mentioned two incidents in his letter to NRAI where he erred on the disciplinary side in Changwon.