Absent from trial, Bindra can’t shoot for WC medal

However good or perfect a sport person is he cannot be bigger than the game or the organization that controls the game. Discipline should be maintained strictly at any cost. If Bindra is not chosen for the forthcoming Commonwealth Shooting Championship on the ground of discipline, it is the right step taken by the authority. Whether India would lose a gold medal is of lesser importance compare to the set up of a wrong precedent.

He missed the mandatory trial before the next months’ competition, so he is liable to be punished. Often, the norms of the system are flouted for different reasons that should be stopped. The National Rifle Association of India should stick to their decision on the ground stated in the news article. There may be pressure from different quarters for his inclusion, which should be dealt with firm observations.

According to Bindra, the onus of missing the trial goes to NRAI that he terms as misleading behavior of the association. The selection process is a time consuming matter, and surely, he knew what is happening in the association from time to time. If one were firm in his resolve, then attending the mandatory trial would have happened. Moreover, Bindra is in a preferred position being the gold medalist of Olympics, and cannot blame by saying that he was mislead.  As he is not in the list of the participants in the next month’s Commonwealth Shooting; he would also miss the world cup events in Sydney and Beijing to be held in March and April respectively. Even his name is included in the world cup squad that would be in the fourth and fifth place, making it meaningless for acquiring medals. The rule of the ISSF says that only the first three contestants can compete for the medals based on their performance in the trials.

Of course, this is a loss for India, but he is only to blame for this if the news report is true.