Niraj Kumar, the Indian 50m rifle three position marksman, found himself in the middle of scrutiny at the ISSF World Cup in Buenos Aires as the competition jury waved a yellow card at him.
For the uninitiated, a yellow card in shooting discipline issued for violation of rules, like interfering with range equipment or loading the weapon without a command.
But in the case of Niraj, who finished at seventh spot, the yellow card surprisingly came as he was using a bore lock to secure his firearm to prevent accidental discharge, a routine practice by the shooters.
“It indeed came as a surprise to us as to why the yellow card warning was issued to Niraj,” said National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) secretary Rajiv Bhatia on Saturday.
“I spoke to the (rifle) coach (Manoj Kumar) accompanying the Indian contingent and he said Niraj was not at fault. Niraj was securing his rifle by inserting a rubber sling or pipe (bore lock) in his gun barrel after firing his last shot. Niraj saw his scores on the screen which showed he had finished seventh, following which he inserted the bore lock in his barrel.
“But the jury thought that that Niraj had a bullet in his hand (not permissible under ISSF rules) and showed him the yellow card,” said Bhatia.
“Niraj told the jury that it was not a bullet but a bore lock but by then he had been shown the yellow card..
Asked if the NRAI would protest the yellow card, Bhatia said, “What is done is done. Had he been in contention for a medal, we would have protested but he finished seventh,” he added.
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