India pulls out of shooting World Cup in Cyprus, citing novel coronavirus threat

India on Friday pulled out of the upcoming shooting World Cup in Cyprus, citing the novel coronavirus threat there. The shotgun world cup, recognized by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), is scheduled to be held from March 4 to 13. The Indian team withdrew from the tournament on the advice of the government, a National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) source told PTI.

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"The coronavirus threat is the only reason we are pulling out and it has been done on the advice of central agencies," he said. 

The deadly virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has so far killed close to 3000 people and infected nearly 80,000 globally. India is also scheduled to host a combined world cup from March 16 to 26 at the Dr. Karni Singh Range here. Cyprus does not have any confirmed cases of coronavirus yet but suspected cases are being quarantined as precautionary measures. 

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(Image Courtesy: PTI)