Heena Sidhu pulls out of Iran event due to hijab rule
The championship is scheduled be held in Iran's capital Tehran in December.
New Delhi: Indian pistol shooter Heena Sidhu has pulled out of the Asian Airgun Shooting Championship in Iran due to the compulsory hijab rule for all women athletes.
The former world number one thinks that forcing athletes to wear a hijab is against the spirit of a sport.
The championship is scheduled be held in Iran's capital Tehran in December.
The two-time Olympian had written to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) about her decision of withdrawing from the competition.
In a series of tweets, Heena wrote
Heena finished 14th after getting eliminated in the qualification round of 10m women's air pistol in Rio Olympics in August. She had earlier won a gold at the 2013 World Cup as well as the Asia Rio 2016 Olympics qualifiers to claim her Rio Games berth.