By Debayan Mukherjee

Kolkata, Jun 16 (IANS): Shimon Sharif, the organiser of the proposed online shooting league that is set to start from July 4, is looking at the possibility of fielding a team comprising former Indian shooters to take part in the first-of-its-kind competition if the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) sticks to its decision of not allowing active Indian shooters to participate in it.

Since former India shooter Sharif proposed the idea of organising a month long online shooting league aimed at helping shooters worldwide be in touch with the sport during the COVID-19 crisis, the NRAI had said it will take disciplinary action against any Indian shooter who takes part in the competition.

Sharif, last Saturday, wrote to NRAI President Raninder Singh asking him to reconsider the decision but is yet to get a reply.

"There has been no reply from NRAI till now. The league is on as planned and several international teams have registered with some of the best shooters of the world.

"I am still hopeful that NRAI will overturn its decision and allow shooters to take part in the online league. If they do, that's brilliant. Otherwise, just to ensure Indian presence I am in talks with a few former shooters," Sharif told IANS on Tuesday.

"This is being done to keep our sport alive at a time when there is no other competition happening in the world. The format is also very short and exciting," he added.

Sharif also said for the inaugural edition, only rifle shooters will take part. "Many European countries are struggling with equipment during this lockdown and they have more rifle shooters," he explained.

Every team will comprise of 3 rifle shooters now. The format used will be the same as announced earlier "Race to 10" in which the shooters of the two teams will take a shot each.

The team with the higher total of 3 shots takes the point and whichever team reaches 10 points first wins that match. There will only be one match between two teams in a day.