No security concerns! Bangladesh shooters set to travel to India for Asian Championships next month
The Bangladesh government has cleared the country's shooters to take part in the Asian Rifle and Pistol Championships in New Delhi next month.
After refusing to send its cricket team to India for the T20 World Cup, citing security reasons , the Bangladesh government has cleared the country's shooters to take part in the Asian Rifle and Pistol Championships in New Delhi next month. The tournament is set to be played from February 02 to 14.
Over 300 shooters from across 17 countries will take part in the shooting competition in New Delhi. There were concerns over Bangladesh's shooters' participation in the tournament amid the ongoing strained political ties between the two countries. However, the Bangladesh government has approved its shooters to travel to India.
As per Bangladesh's Daily Sun, the Bangladesh Youth and Sports Ministry issued an official government order (GO) on Wednesday, clearing two shooters from the country to travel to India and take part in the Asian Rifle and Pistol Championships in New Delhi.
26-year-old Olympian Md Robiul Islam and 21-year-old women's rifle shooter Arefin Shaira will take part in the tournament. Both shooters will take part in the 10m air rifle individual event before teaming up in the mixed team competition. As per the report, the Bangladesh government believes the tournament doesn't pose a security risk as it is set to be played indoors at a secure venue (Karni Singh Range).
Bangladesh team is coming, no doubt about it: NRAI secretary
Meanwhile, Rajiv Bhatia, the secretary of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), also rubbished the rumours regarding Bangladesh's participation in the tournament. Bhatia said the Bangladesh team will take part in the Asian Championships and that there has been no communication that suggests otherwise.
Bhatia also confirmed that NRAI is in touch with the Bangladesh shooting federation and that the Indian embassy in Bangladesh is working to clear their visas. The tournament will be played from February 02 to 14.
"So far there is no news that the Bangladesh team is not coming. Their team is coming, no doubt about it," NRAI secretary Bhatia was quoted as saying by PTI.
"We at NRAI are in regular touch with them (Bangladesh federation officials). The Ministry of External Affairs has given its clearance and we have forwarded it to the (Indian) embassy for visa process," he added.
Bangladesh refused to travel to India for T20 World Cup 2026
Bangladesh were recently replaced in the T20 World Cup 2026 by the ICC after they refused to travel to India for the tournament, citing security reasons. Despite multiple attempts from the ICC to solve the issue, the Bangladesh government and the Bangladesh Cricket Board remained firm on not sending the team to India for the tournament.
ICC eventually replaced Bangladesh with Scotland over their refusal to travel to India. Bangladesh will be missing a T20 World Cup for the first time since the tournament's inception in 2007.