Relationship between cricketer turned politician Gautam Gambhir and controversies have a long and colorful history. And adding a new issue to the list is Gambhir’s tussle with the top archers of India.
Significantly, Gambhir had written a letter to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) requesting it to name the cricket pavilion, which was built to host archery competition during the 2010 Commonwealth Games besides housing a training center for the city’s archers, in former cricket captain Anil Kumble’s name.
However, the cricketer’s call didn’t go well with many top archers of the nation and even with Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda, who is also the Archery Association of India (AAI) president.
Notably, Munda has requested DDA to name the facility after legendary archer Limba Ram.
Meanwhile, some top archers namely Deepika Kumari, Atanu Das, Bombayla Devi, Tarundeep Rai and Jayanta Talukdar have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting his intervention in the matter.
“This ground has also been proposed by the Archery Association of India (AAI) for conducting the CWG 2022-Birmingham because of its world-class facilities. You have always looked out for us and the best interest of the nation. Hence, I’m hopeful that you will understand our concern and emotions behind our request and resolve this issue in the interest of archery and its future,” the archers wrote in their joint letter to the PM on Friday.
Also, the archers pointed out Gambhir to propose naming one of the stands at the Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly known as the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium) or at any other venue meant for cricket.