The National Rifle Association of India called off the season’s first shooting World Cup, both rifle/pistol and shotgun, to be held in New Delhi due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

This decision comes soon after the cancellation of the Munich edition, which was to be held in June.

“Due to Covid-19 pandemic the New Delhi Organising Committee has been forced to cancel Rifle/Pistol and Shotgun World Cups. Both of these were due to take place in New Delhi,” the sport’s world governing body – International Shooting Sport Federation – said in a statement.

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The Delhi World Cup, originally scheduled to be held from March 15-26, was postponed barely four days before the start of the event. It was then decided to hold the tournament in two parts – Rifle and Pistol competitions from May 5-12, while Shotgun competitions from June 2-9.

“The health and safety of our athletes, officials, staff and of all members of our shooting fraternity are absolutely paramount,” said a statement from NRAI.

The decision to postpone the tournament was arrived at after the Indian government imposed several restrictions on the entry of travellers from affected countries such as China, Italy, South Korea, Japan and Iran, in a bid to contain the spread of novel coronavirus.

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The ISSF on Wednesday had announced that two international competitions to be held in Germany in the month of June and July stand cancelled due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

The ISSF World Cup was to be held in Munich from June 2 to 9 while the ISSF Junior World Championship was scheduled for July 11 to 19 in Suhl. Both these events have been cancelled almost three months before schedule as Europe reels under the rapid spread of the virus.

Earlier, the Olympic Test Event to be held in Tokyo was also cancelled due to the global Coronavirus outbreak. Eventually, the Tokyo Games were pushed back by a year as well. The Olympics will now set be held from July 23 to August 8 in 2021.