ISSF Junior World Championships: Indian shooters reported for ‘damaging equipments’ in hotel rooms

New Delhi: Some members of the Indian shooting contingent for the 3rd World Juniors Championship in Changwon recently “broke the code of conduct” of the hotel they were staying in, and the ‘incidents’ have been reported to the officials accompanying the 90-member squad. An official travelling with the Indian squad told PTI that the hotel reception had reported an incident where a female shooter was found inside a male shooter’s room. There were also a few instances where some equipment was damaged inside the hotel rooms. “We haven’t been able to independently verify the incident (of a female shooter being found in a male marksman’s room) as no one has seen them entering or leaving the room. “However, the hotel had reported a few instances of damage to some equipment in the rooms, for which they have been compensated,” said an official who had accompanied the team to Changwon. “An incident where a female shooter was found inside a male shooter’s room too was reported by the hotel reception, but on questioning the said shooters, nothing was found. And, none of the national squad members was involved in any of the activities as pointed out by the hotel.” India sent the largest contingent among participating countries to the World Juniors in the Korean city, which concluded on 24 July. India finished second behind China with 17 medals, including six gold, six silver and five bronze medals. China won 28 medals, including 12 gold. More than 550 shooters from 44 countries took part in the tournament. “The shooters who have been reported had gone on a ’non-cost-to-government’ basis. They are shotgun shooters,” added the official. Shooters who go on ’no-cost-to-government’ pay for their expenses and shoot in the ‘Minimum Qualification Score’ (MQS) category. MQS is the minimum score that must be achieved in order to qualify for an event or for the next higher level in shooting competitions. MQS scores are declared by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). “What we found during questioning was that a female shooter had used the toilet in a male shooter’s room,” the official said. “There had been incidents where players prepared noodles in electric kettles and damaged them. We have paid the hotel for the damaged equipment,” the official added. The official confirmed that one of the senior officials accompanying the contingent had submitted a report to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) and “everyone, including the coaching staff will be called for questioning soon”. “The NRAI has taken a serious view of this and we, along with the shooters involved, will also be called for questioning.” The official added that it wasn’t known if the hotel had made the CCTV footage available to the Indian contingent officials. “They (hotel) might have given video footage of the incident but I am unaware of it. “Before leaving India for international competitions, we make the contingent aware of the do’s and don’ts. There is a daily briefing also to make them aware of what is right and what is wrong,” the official said. “This, I believe, was the first international exposure of the shooters who have been reported,” the official added.