In line with the IOC's aim to achieve gender equality in its Tokyo Olympics programme, the International Shooting Sport Federation last week forwarded to IOC its ad-hoc committee's recommendations, which when implemented, will see the double trap men's event being replaced by trap mixed gender team event, 50m rifle prone with a 10m air rifle mixed gender event and 50m pistol with 10m air pistol mixed gender team event.
"An example is mixed pair test event over here in air pistol (which Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu won). So we have the best chance of picking up an extra medal in the two air events. That's why I believe it is in our interest, this change. I am not worried about it," he said.
"When we see how it suits us as a country. I am very happy, I think I am going to gain. You get extra chances for quota, you get extra chances for medal in our strength areas."
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The nine-member ad-hoc committee was headed by Abhinav Bindra, who has come in for criticism from some shooters, and Raninder said it was the duty of the Indian Olympic champion to "project" the recommendations of his body to the ISSF executive board.
"The ISSF athletes committee is one vote out of 13 on the executive board. He is not the only one making the recommendation. The ISSF executive board set up an ad hoc committee in which the athletes committee chairman was one member out of nine.
The IOC Programme Commission will evaluate the proposal and the IOC Executive Board will decide the 2020 Olympic shooting events programme later this summer.
"In case of gender equality in 2020, they had their own internal vote on the subject. This is not something that has come out of the blue. In Lonato, one year ago, all 13 members of the executive board and the entire council discussed this issue."
"The IOC has given us a very detailed study of which one of our 15 sports is (behind) in ranking, growth, television viewership, and the worst performer has been double trap followed by 50m and prone. So what they have done is (replace) the bottom three. There is logic to it, there is no likes or dislikes. It's the bottom three which the executive committee has chosen to replace. His body had unanimous vote on two -- double trap and 50m. On prone, there was no unanimity.
The NRAI president, meanwhile, said the Indian junior skeet team will have a new coach in Pietro Jenga.