The Bangladesh interim government has approved the participation of a shooting delegation in the upcoming Asian Air Gun Championship, scheduled to be held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi from February 2 to 14. The team is set to arrive in India on January 31, 2026.
Around 17 countries will take part in the event, with 300 shooters expected to compete. Bangladesh will be represented by Olympian shooter Md Robiul Islam and coach Sharmin Aktar, who will participate in the 10m air rifle events.
“This delegation is a small group representing Bangladesh,” an official from the Bangladesh Shooting Federation said on Thursday.
“In the Bangladeshi delegation, there is one shooter and one coach. The shooter’s name is Robiul Islam, and the coach’s name is Sharmin Aktar. The interim government of Bangladesh has granted them permission to travel to India and take part in the competition,” Aleya Ferdousi, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Shooting Federation, told ANI over the phone.
“The Bangladeshi shooting delegation will travel to India on the 31st of January,” she added.
As per a report by Dhaka’s Daily Sun, the Bangladesh government believes the shooting championship will “not pose significant security risks, as the competition is set to be held indoors at a secured venue (Karni Singh Range)”.
The development comes just after the Bangladeshi government had denied permission for the national cricket team to travel to India for the T20 World Cup, citing security concerns. Bangladesh had sought a venue shift for their matches from India to Sri Lanka, but the ICC rejected the request, stating there was no visible security threat.
The government maintained its decision, following which the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland for the tournament. However, under the leadership of Professor Muhammad Yunus, the interim government has now cleared the shooting delegation’s travel to India.
Scotland, led by captain Richie Berrington, have previously featured in six of the nine editions of the T20 World Cup (2007, 2009, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024). They have been placed in Group C alongside England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies and will begin their campaign on February 7 at Eden Gardens against the West Indies.