After delay, Oly-bound shooter gets permit to carry ammunition

After a prolonged delay that hampered his preparations for the London Olympics, shooter Joydeep Karmakar finally got permission from the DGCA to carry ammunition to Germany for training and competition.

The 50-metre rifle shooter, who secured a berth for the Olympics earlier this year, was scheduled to leave for Germany last week, but had to postpone his departure thanks to a delay on part of the Director General Civil Aviation.

"I got it finally, thank God," Joydeep told PTI. "Normally it takes 10-15 days but this time it took longer. And I lost out on very important training days," he added.

Joydeep will be taking part in two competitions during the trip. The first event is scheduled to take place in Germany from June 18 to 22, while the other one will be held in Luxembourg from June 26 to 29.

"I was supposed to go last week, but I had to wait for the permit for the ammunition. Though I sent it a month back, my file was opened only on Friday. They told me that they would give me the permit by Monday, which they did," he said.

Joydeep is now trying to leave for Germany tomorrow itself. Prior to the delay in getting permit for carrying his ammunition, Joydeep's preparations for the London Games had hit a roadblock due to lack of funds.

The crisis prompted Joydeep to inform both the Sports Ministry and the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) about it.

Joydeep was managing his practice by himself till now.