Iran pistol shooters to miss meet

PUNE: Internal unrest, protests and a shutdown of the Internet has forced Iran shooters to miss the Asian Shooting Championships.Iran had sent a strong 28-shooter list for the continental meet, however, the participants couldn’t apply for visas on time due to the political situation in their country. Their strong list of shooters included Tokyo Games gold medallist and Iran’s first-ever shooter to finish on podium, Javad Faroughi, who is making a comeback to the circuit after a break.With the pistol events being scheduled on Wednesday, Iran’s participation is ruled out from the said category.They are, however, trying to send their rifle team as the matches will begin from Friday, with the official training on Thursday. “We’ve been told that they are trying to send their rifle shooters,” the National Rifle Association of India’s secretary general Pawan Singh said.Though their shooters will miss the meet, one of their jury members has managed to reach Delhi as officials are notified early, and she had applied for the visa many weeks ago.