Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore gives Commonwealth Games a miss

Olympic silver medal winning double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will not be able to participate in the Commonwealth Games, as he failed to appear for the selection trials in New Delhi.

According to the rule, he will not be able to participate in the Asian Games as well.

Speaking exclusively to DNA, Rathore said that he took the decision because he was not happy with the new selection policy that didn’t allow enough liberty to the trap and skeet shooters. “I have also written about it on my blog. I feel the policy has not left me in a positive frame of mind,” said Rathore.

National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) secretary Rajeev Bhatia said that the shooter never discussed anything about the flaws of selection policy with them.

“He never discussed the flaws with us. He must have spoken to some of the senior people, but he never officially said anything regarding the policy. I think whosoever does not get selected, tries to find flaws in the selection policy,” said Bhatia.

When asked if he had discussed the policy issue with the authorities, the shooter said, “I have discussed it with them I don’t know how many times. If today they do not acknowledge that, I don’t have anything to say.”

According to the chief trap and skeet coach M Padmanabhan, the shooter had attended the pre-event practice on Monday, but did not appear for the trials on Tuesday. However, Rathore said he did not go to the venue to practice.

“I had gone on the first day of the practice and on the last day, just to see how other shooters are doing. I did not go there to participate in the trials or to practice for that.”

The authorities also blamed the shooter of not informing them about his decision to skip the trials. “He did not inform us that he will not be coming for the trials. As per the rules, we had called his name thrice before the trials and when he did not appear, he was marked absent,” said Bhatia.

To this, Rathore said, “We inform people we have faith in. If I don’t have faith in anyone, why would I inform them, to get embarrassed?”

As Rathore did not participate in the trials, his aggregate score stops at 130, which makes him stand fifth in the order. As per the rules, the top two shooters in the list will get selected for the CWG, while the top three will make the cut for the Asian Games.