National Shooting Championship loses sheen as Abhinav Bindra pulls out

New Delhi: Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra has decided to miss the finals of the 59th National Shooting Championship which got underway at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range here today.

The Men's 10m Air Rifle finals is the showcase event of the National Championships but with Bindra's absence this time the finals will lose some of its sheen.

"Due to personal reasons which require me to travel I will not be able to complete my full competition at the national championships," Bindra wrote on his twitter handle.

"I will however complete my qualification round on one of the days and fulfil the NRAI norms for selection etc."

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has made the National Championship the most important event in the calendar by keeping the scores achieved in the competition as the foundation for national selection.

According to indianshooting.Com, around 3500 shooters will be seen in action in the two week long competition that began today with the Men's 10m Air Pistol, 50m Free Pistol and Women's 25m Sports Pistol events.