It was common knowledge that work at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range was running way behind schedule.
It was common knowledge that work at the Dr Karni Singh shooting range was running way behind schedule but that there is no likelihood of covering up for lost time has been accepted only now.
The ranges, situated in Tughlakabad on the outskirts of Delhi, were to be completed by August this year. It was planned that the venue would host the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in October this year as a way of preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
But the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) expressed its inability to host the tournament one year before the Commonwealth Games, as is the norm, and requested the Commonwealth Shooting Federation (CSF) for a change in dates for this year’s event.
“We had no option but to ask for new dates as the infrastructure will remain incomplete by then,” admitted Baljeet Singh Sethi, the NRAI secretary-general.
Though officials maintained that work was being speeded up and would meet the deadline of August, Sethi’s statement makes it clear how far the claim is from reality. The NRAI secretary-general, meanwhile, is a relieved man after CSF accepted the new dates.
“We are happy that the CSF has accepted our request and given us fresh dates. The Commonwealth Shooting Championship will now be held from February 20 to 28 (2010), which gives us a good four months more,” he added.
The championship, though, will now be held very close to the World Shooting Championships, also to be organised at the same ranges from March 21 to 29 next year.
“Organising two events close to each other is not a matter of concern for us. There is sufficient time,” said Sethi.
This is not the first event in the run up to the Commonwealth Games that had to be postponed because of a delay in construction work.
The Indian Boxing Federation had to request for postponement of the Commonwealth Boxing Championship from November this year to March 2010. Also, the World Badminton Championships, scheduled for August this year, had to be moved to Hyderabad.
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