The ISSF Shooting World Cup to be held in New Delhi from March 15, 2020 has been postponed due to the growing concerns over the coronavirus outbreak and will now mostly be held in May or June, the Tribune reported.
“The decision was taken in view of the extraordinary circumstances that we as a country and the world is facing now,” National Rifle Association of India president Raninder Singh was quoted as saying by the paper.
“The combined World Cup will now be held in two parts. One for the rifle and pistol competitions and one for the shotgun events, dates of which will be released shortly,” he added.
The World Cup, to be held later, is likely to carry ranking points.
The International Shooting Sport federation had on Wednesday announced that the World Cup in Delhi won’t carry ranking points because athletes from all countries cannot participate following the health advisory issued by the Indian government.
The government has imposed several restrictions on the entry of travellers from affected countries such as China, Italy, South Korea, Japan and Iran, in a bid to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The list of guidelines issued also states that the visa of all foreign nationals who have visited the following countries in the year 2020 and have not yet landed in India will be cancelled.