Four marksmen were evicted from Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune for creating a ruckus.
Four rifle shooters, who are part of the core group for next year’s Commonwealth Games, have been thrown out from an ongoing camp at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune on charges of indiscipline.
The foursome, which includes a marksman who has participated in top events like the World Cups, created a ruckus in the hostel’s A Block late on July 31, discharging all the fire extinguishers of the block. A Sports Authority of India (SAI) shooter, Mohit Singh, who clicked pictures from his mobile phone in a bid to capture their escapades, was also roughed up.
Rifle shooting coach Randhir Singh confirmed the incident but said the shooters had denied the allegations. “We were informed by the SAI officials about what happened that night. When we asked the shooters to own up and confess, none of them turned up, After an inquiry, we found out that Rushad Damaniya (.22 rifle), Rakesh M (.22 rifle), Rijul Kala (.22 rifle) and Hardeep Singh (10m rifle) were the culprits,” Randhir told DNA.
“They have been sent home and could miss upcoming foreign tours,” he added.
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) secretary-general, Baljeet Singh Sethi, confirmed the action taken against the shooters. “After making our investigations, we found they were guilty of bad conduct and we decided to remove them from the camp. But they remain part of the core group for the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
Damaniya, a former student of Mumbai’s Ruia College, confirmed that there had been such an incident but refused to go into details. “We were involved in a brawl, but I would not like to comment on this,” said Damaniya, whose friend Hardeep, who is with the army, participated in last year’s World Cups in Milan and Beijing.
This is the second instance of indiscipline within a month. Big bore shooters Mohammad Ashab and Mohammad Shiraj, also part of the core group, were involved in a brawl last month. Ashab was found guilty of attacking Shiraj and was similarly turned out of a camp.
Meanwhile, the shooters are concerned about the swine flu in Pune and officials have asked doctors from a hospital here to provide for preventive medication. “In all, 11 doctors will attend to the shooters and check them thoroughly. Since they are tied up with us in this camp we have asked for the assistance. But, thank God, no one has complained of the flu so far,” added Randhir.
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