Hearing-impaired shooter Dhanush Srikanth’s disqualification from Asian Championships leaves family shocked

Dhanush Srikanth was participating in his last Junior Asian Championships, but an issue with the stiffness of his apparel led to the shooter's disqualification from the event.

The 21-year-old, who has undergone two cochlear implants, would have finished with a gold in the 10m Air Rifle team event if not for his disqualification. Dhanush, alongside teammates Umamahesh Maddineni, and Abhinav Shaw, had shot a 627.9, 628.5, and 625.6 to aggregate 1882, which would suffice for a gold and an Asian Junior record.

However, with Dhanush's disqualification, the team lost their medal, while he lost his chance to shoot for an individual gold in the finals.

Speaking on the disqualification, Dhanush's mother Asha Srikanth told PTI,

“At the end of the day, he lost his medal, and he missed out on playing the finals, which is a big loss for him. This was actually his last junior match. He was prepared and wanted to come back with a medal,”

“He was very much prepared and confident. He kept saying before leaving ‘Mamma (mother) I will come back with a medal’. This (disqualification) was shocking and disturbing. He was very upset, we could only support him by saying it’s all part of the game. But he kept saying, ‘mamma I was not able to play. I was just disqualified’,” she added.

As far as Asha knows, Dhanush was given the all-clear ahead of the competition in terms of his equipment, and hence she was confused after the random check-up.

“Just before the match, I think the weapons test, jacket, trouser test everything was clear, that’s what my son told me ‘Mamma everything was clear, no issues’. Then, we were also surprised (to hear the news of disqualification).

Asha is also waiting to find out if an official was with Dhanush when the inspection was carried out. Given his cochlear implants, Dhanush doesn't speak a lot and would need someone to assist him in a difficult situation like this, according to his mother.

“He is a cochlear implant child, had two surgeries at the age of one year and then at nine. He can’t speak, he just speaks a few words, and most of it (explanation) is through actions. He hears through his machine, otherwise he manages, but when such issues arise, he needs someone."

On their end, the NRAI isn't overly worried about the disqualification and is quite sure that a coach was present with Dhanush when the inspection took place.

“For us (NRAI), its (disqualification) not such a big issue. It can happen to anyone. It's not possible that someone wasn’t with him at that time. Still, I will speak to the coaches. The jacket’s stiffness can change with moisture or air-conditioning," said NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia

Why was Dhanush Srikanth disqualified?

In rifle shooting events like the 10m Air rifle and 50m 3-position, there are certain rules to be upheld about the apparel of the shooter. Given the need for precision in shooting, the players tend to wear "stiff kits" that limit body movement and provide stability while shooting.

The ISSF rules say that the stiffness of the track and jacket cannot be less than 3.0, whereas Dhanush's trousers had a stiffness of 2.9. This mistake resulted in the shooter's disqualification from the event.