The Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships, which were due to be held in Chandigarh ahead of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, have been called off due to “uncertainty” posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said on Friday the decision was taken by the Commonwealth Games India (CGI) Executive Council “with the support of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)”.

“We are disappointed that the 2022 Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships are no longer taking place, but it is the right decision to take in the current climate,” said CGF President Dame Louise Martin DBE.

“Despite this news, there are many key learnings that will benefit our ongoing work as we seek to innovate and create new Commonwealth sport properties.

“The Chandigarh 2022 concept has identified exciting opportunities regarding future co-hosting possibilities that we need to explore further,” she added.

2022 Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships update:

After careful consideration of several factors, including the continued uncertainty created by the ongoing global pandemic, the championships scheduled to take place in India have been called off.

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– Commonwealth Sport (@thecgf) July 2, 2021

The championships were part of a compromise between the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the CGF when the former threatened to withdraw from Birmingham 2022 after the shooting was taken from the Games list. Shooting has always been India’s strongest sport.

Following a visit from Martin and then CEO David Grevemberg, the IOA withdrew its warning at the Annual General Meeting in December 2019.

The event was scheduled to take place in Chandigarh six months before the Games in January next year and medals would be added to the main event tally later.

However, the IOA, until last month, had not ratified the organization of the championships, citing the lack of an in-person meeting amid the pandemic, while admitting that the health crisis would make it “really difficult »The conduct of these events.

While the cost of the shooting championship was to be covered largely by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), the archery event was supposed to be funded solely by the Indian government.