Mr (Dumfries and Galloway)
(Con):...This debate has taken on an international
flavour, as I have been contacted by the Crown Prince of
Patiala, India, His Highness Raninder Singh, who is
also president of the National Rifle Association of India. He stresses how important it is for his
country to be involved. I have also had support from , who is in Kenya and has
similar strong feelings.
Let me also highlight the impact that this decision would have
on India’s medal standing. India is
the largest member state, and shooting sports contributed to 24%
of the medals she won at the Gold Coast Commonwealth games. At
the previous games in Glasgow, 23% of her medals came from
shooting sports. Not to include shooting sports in Birmingham
will deny India the ability to maximise and
showcase her shooting athletes’ skills, which have enabled them
to secure the No. 1 position in shooting in the past two
games...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Tracey
Crouch):...Shooting is one of the top five most popular
sports among participating Commonwealth nations and territories.
At Glasgow 2014, more than 350 athletes represented 39 nations
and territories. At Gold Coast 2018, 281 athletes from 38 nations
and territories took part in the shooting disciplines. I am
conscious of my hon. Friend’s point that large Commonwealth
countries such as Indiaparticipate in shooting, but so do
very small nations, who contribute a great deal. The list of
nations and territories that participated in Glasgow and in Gold
Coast include Norfolk Island and Niue, which my hon. Friend
mentioned. I am trying to work out whether they are the two
smallest; Norfolk Island has a population of about 1,700 people,
yet it had eight athletes competing in the shooting discipline at
the Gold Coast Commonwealth games...
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