In what could be a big boost for women’s T20 cricket, the event could be added to the Commonwealth Games set to be held at Birmingham in 2022.
The organisers proposals for three new sports were given approval by the Commonwealth Games Federation’s Executive Board, stated a release on the site on on Thursday. The other two sports are beach volleyball and para table tennis.
The move also means that shooting and archery are set to miss out next CWG, which will be a blow for India’s chances. India had won as many as 16 medals at the 2018 edition in Gold Coast.
The five sports involved in this process of selection were archery (recurve), cricket, shooting, para table tennis and beach volleyball. Of these, the three were nominated.
However, for the sports to be confirmed, the committee will need the approval of at least 51% of the Commonwealth Games Associations, according to the CGF president Louise Martin.
“Following a careful review, the CGF Executive Board agreed to recommend to our Commonwealth Games Associations that they approve the proposed sports joining the programme.
“However, for the sports to be confirmed, we will need to receive a positive response from a minimum of 51% of the CGAs. We must respect this process and hope to make a positive announcement in late July or early August following the conclusion of the vote,” Martin was quoted as saying.
This move is aimed at making more medals available for women and more para-sports included, compared to any other previous edition of the Commonwealth Games.
“Our recommendation of adding women’s cricket, beach volleyball and Para table tennis is the result of a thorough review and we believe these sports would help us to enhance the existing programme and reach new audiences, while showcasing the sports to our local community, spectators and fans across the world watching on TV,” Ian Reid, CEO of Birmingham 2022, said.
Last year, the National Rifle Association of India president Raninder Singh, wanted the Indian government to boycott the 2022 Commonwealth Games if shooting was dropped from the programme.
The absence of shooting is likely to make a big dent into India’s medals tally in the 2022 edition. Indian shooters bagged 16 medals from the Gold Coast Games including seven gold, four silver and 5 bronze.
India has traditionally done well in shooting which has been part of every Commonwealth Games since 1966, except the 1970 edition in Edinburgh.
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