New Delhi, Apr 2 (IANS): A decision on the New Delhi Shooting World Cup will be taken after the end of the lockdown in India that is in place to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, said National Rifles Association of India secretary Rajiv Bhatia.

"Right now we are not taking any decisions on the matter," Bhatia told IANS on Thursday. "We are waiting for things to settle down a bit and will make a decision after seeing what is the situation after the lockdown. Anyhow, the health and safety of our athletes always comes first.

"We will be meeting for the ISSF calendar after things settle down a bit but yes, the health of our athletes always comes first."

Bhatia also said that thus far there has been no communication from players or coaches about the tournament. "There have been no demands or queries related to the event from the coaches or the players. They are all waiting for things to settle down," he said.

The International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) had on Thursday announced the cancellation of the Munich World Cup and the Junior World Championships in Suhl, Germany. While the Munich World Cup should have taken place from June 2 to 9, the junior World Championships was scheduled to be held from July 11 to 19.

Following this, veteran Slovenian shooter Rajmond Debevec demanded clarity on the New Delhi World Cup. "Olympic games postponed for 1 year, whole India in quarantine, but ISSF still keeps rescheduled 2020 ISSF World Cup rifle and pistol, New Delhi, 5th-13th May, in the list of next events!?!?!" he said on Facebook.

The ISSF had on March 6 said that the NRAI's proposal to postpone the New Delhi World Cup after the pullout of shooters from several countries was accepted. According to the new schedule, the rifle and pistol competitions are scheduled to be held from May 5 to 12 while the shotgun competitions will be held from June 2 to 9.