China and Pakistan pull out of ISSF World Cup 

What’s the story?

In a massive development, China and Pakistan have pulled out of the ISSF World Cup that is going to be hosted by India in New Delhi in the next month.

In case you did not know

The Corona Virus outbreak and the possible dangers that come with it prompted Chinese officials to withdraw entries of its shooters for the World Cup. Meanwhile, Pakistan stated that their shooters would not be able to participate in the upcoming event as they need time to train for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Heart of the matter

The news of the Chinese shooters not taking part in the event, in the wake of the Corona Virus threat, came as a big relief to the event organizers. The President of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), Raninder Singh stated that his Chinese counterparts informed him about the decision of not sending their shooters to India. Singh was quoted as saying by the Times Of India,

“It is completely their call and not prompted by the Indian government. I think it is a wise call."

"They informed us because hotel bookings and other arrangements had been made for them."

As for Pakistan, three of their 2020 Tokyo Olympic bound shooters are going to be training with a coach in Germany in March, rendering them unavailable for the event.

What’s next?

The ISSF World Cup will host events in rifle, pistol and shotgun and is going to be held at Dr Karni Range in New Delhi from March 15th to March 26th.