Two Bangladeshi shooters confirmed for Asian C’ships in Delhi

The development comes days after ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland at the T20 World Cup which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka

New Delhi: The upcoming Asian Shooting Championships, set to be held at the Karni Singh Shooting Range in the capital from February 2-14, will have participation from two shooters from Bangladesh even as cricketing ties between the two nations have hit an all-time low following Bangladesh’s ouster from the T20 World Cup, also scheduled in February.

Bangladesh had sent the names of Shaira Arefin and Md Robiul Islam, both rifle shooters, and their entries were accepted and approved by the Indian government. “The countries are supposed to make their entries on the ISSF portal following which NRAI seeks clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS). Once we get the go-ahead from the three ministries, we roll out a formal invitation following which the countries begin their visa formalities,” NRAI secretary general Pawan Singh told HT.

“The process commenced three months back and the visas, in all probability, have already been issued. The two Bangladeshi shooters are definitely coming to India,” Singh added.

The development comes days after the International Cricket Council (ICC) replaced Bangladesh with Scotland at the T20 World Cup which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Bangladesh had refused to travel to India for the biennial tournament citing security concerns after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), acting on instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), dropped pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

“So far there is no news that the Bangladesh team is not coming. We are in touch with the Bangladesh team and players. They have confirmed participation. Their team is coming, no doubt about it,” NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia told PTI. The Asian Championships will feature participation from 17 countries that will field over 300 shooters.

“We at NRAI are in regular touch with our Bangladeshi counterparts. The Ministry of External Affairs has given its clearance and we have forwarded it to the (Indian) embassy for visa process,” Bhatia added.

Shaira, 21, and Islam, 26, will compete in the individual 10m air rifle events before teaming up for the mixed team competition.

Bangladesh's Youth and Sports Secretary Mahbub-Ul-Alam confirmed the development to The Daily Star on Wednesday. Asked about the decision to issue a ag-ahead for the shooting team while the cricket team’s tour was turned down on security grounds, he said the government was treating the two matters as separate cases.

“Only a two-member contingent is travelling there. The competition venue is fully secured, and the involvement of general spectators is very limited. We have also been assured by the hosts that there is no security threat,” Mahbub said.

He also informed that Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul had spoken with Bangladesh Shooting Sport Federation general secretary Ferdows Ara Khanom before giving the green signal for issuing the government order.

Meanwhile, Pakistan did not send a single entry for the competition. “Pakistan didn’t send a single name, which is a bit surprising since they usually send their entries,” Singh said.

“It will be interesting to see whether Pakistan will send their contingent for next year’s World Cup in Delhi since it will also serve as a qualifier for LA 2028,” he added. Set to be held from April 21-30, 2027, the tournament will offer 12 Olympic quota places — one in each individual Olympic shooting events across rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines.