New Delhi, Apr 6 (IANS): The New Delhi Shooting World Cup, which was scheduled to take place in two separate legs, was on Monday officially cancelled. National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) secretary Rajiv Bhatia said that there were no potential new dates discussed in the meeting for the process.

"There are no fresh dates, the event has been cancelled. I don't think any competition will take place this year. The 2020 New Delhi World Cup is cancelled," Bhatia told IANS.

The International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) said in its statement on Monday that both the rifle and pistol, and the shotgun legs of the competition have been cancelled.

"Due to COVID-19 pandemic the New Delhi Organising Committee has been forced to cancel Rifle/Pistol and Shotgun World Cups," said the ISSF. "Both of these were due to take place in New Delhi. Rifle and Pistol events were planned to be held from 5th to 13th May and Shotgun from 20th to 29th May."

It additionally said the Baku World Cup from June 22 June to July 3 have also been cancelled.

The New Delhi World Cup was initially scheduled to be held from March 15 to 26. However, in the days leading up to the competition, a number of countries started pulling their athletes out as the coronavirus pandemic started spreading on a global scale.

Eventually, it was decided to postpone the tournament and hold it in two legs -- the rifle and pistol competitions were scheduled to be held from May 5 to 12 while the shotgun competitions was supposed to take place from June 2 to 9.