Indian rifle shooter Niraj Kumar shown yellow card in ISSF World Cup, NRAI says jury at fault

New Delhi, Apr 5: India’s men’s 50m rifle 3-positions marksman Niraj Kumar found himself in an awkward situation while competing in the final at the ISSF World Cup in Buenos Aires, when the competition jury approached him at his firing station and flashed a yellow card, catching the 25-year-old by surprise.
A yellow card in shooting sport is issued for a first violation of the rules, such as interfering with range equipment or loading the weapon without a command.
But in the case of Niraj, who had just completed the competition finishing seventh in the final, the yellow card came as a surprise as he was just using the “bore lock” to secure his firearm to prevent accidental discharge, a practice followed by shooters as a matter of routine.
Three Indians — Chain Singh, who won the bronze on Friday, two-time Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Niraj — had made it to the 50m rielf 3-positions final in the season-opening World Cup.
Hungarian Istvan Peni won gold (461.0), his seventh ISSF top-podium finish, while China’s Tian Jiaming (458.8) bagged the silver, as Chain notched up 443.7 points to settle for bronze.
“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 beem 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. (Agencies)

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