Organisers did not follow due procedure before disqualifying Dhanush: NRAI

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has flayed the organisers of the ongoing Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon, Korea for disqualifying air rifle shooter Dhanush Srikanth without adopting “correct procedure” and also lodged a protest with them.

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has flayed the organisers of the ongoing Asian Shooting Championships in Changwon, Korea for disqualifying air rifle shooter Dhanush Srikanth without adopting "correct procedure” and also lodged a protest with them.

Dhanush, a hearing-impaired marksman, was picked up for random apparel check by the range officials after the 10m air rifle qualification round and was disqualified as his trouser did not meet the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) norm for stiffness.

Had Dhanush not been disqualified, India would have won the team gold with a junior Asian record and the shooter from Hyderabad could have also won an individual medal as he was placed third going into the finals.

“They organisers did not even declare that Dhanush was being disqualified. He was not even shown the red card. A protest has been lodged with the organisers. We have also met the Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC) president and informed him about the same,” NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia told PTI.

In shooting events, such as 10m air rifle and 50m rifle 3-positions events, it is mandatory to wear stiff jackets and trousers, as precision can only be achieved if the body movement is minimum. This can be achieved by wearing apparel made of stiff cloth, which gives stability to the body while shooting.

An electronic gauge is used by the equipment control section at the competition venue to measure the stiffness of the apparel in order to negate the possibility of unfair advantage to any shooter during competition.

Dhanush, the Deaflympics champion in 2022 who has undergone two cochlear transplants, was disqualified as the stiffness of his trouser was 2.9, while it should not be less than 3.0.