Neeraj Chopra pulls out of Birmingham CWG due to groin strain
Birmingham(PTI): Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has pulled out of the Commonwealth Games due to "fitness concerns", the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced on Tuesday.
Chopra had won a historic silver medal at the World Athletics Championship in Eugene on Sunday and suffered a strain in his groin during the competition.
IOA Secretary General Rajiv Mehta said the reigning Olympic champion has been advised rest for one month.
"Team India javelin thrower Mr. Neeraj Chopra had called me earlier today from the US to convey his inability to take part in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games owing to fitness concern," Mehta said.
"Following his participation in the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Mr. Chopra had had an MRI scan done on Monday and, based on it, he has been advised a month's rest by his medical team," Mehta added.
The 24-year-old had become only the second Indian athlete to win a medal at World Championship, after Anju Bobby George, who won a bronze medal in long jump at the 2003 World Championship held in Paris.
Chopra was expected to be India's flag bearer at the Games, starting Thursday.
"We have a meeting later in the day to decide the new flag-bearer," India team's chef de mission Rajesh Bhandari told PTI.
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Kunal Kamra asks BookMyShow to not delist him, share contact of audiences from his shows
New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI): Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on Monday wrote an open letter to BookMyShow requesting the online ticketing platform to either not delist him or to hand over the contact information of audience members he has earned through his solo shows over the years.
The letter, which he shared on his X page, comes days after Shiv Sena claimed BookMyShow had taken Kamra off the sale and artists list from its platform amid ongoing controversy around his 'traitor' jibe against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
"Dear BookMyShow, I understand that you need to maintain a cordial relationship with the state, and I know that Mumbai is a major hub for live entertainment. Without the state's cooperation, iconic shows like Coldplay and Guns N' Roses wouldn't be possible...
"I request one of the following: Do not delist me, or provide me with the data (contact information) I've generated through your platform from my audience," Kamra said in his two-page letter.
On April 5, the Mumbai-born comedian -- who is now a permanent resident of Tamil Nadu -- had asked BookMyShow whether the reports of him being delisted from the platform were true.
"Hello @bookmyshow can you please confirm if I have your platform to list my shows if not it’s fine. I understand… (sic)" he wrote on X.
On Monday, the comedian also addressed his audiences calling for a boycott of the platform over the news of Kamra being delisted as an artist.
He said he was "not a fan of boycotts or down rating a private business".
"BookMyShow is well within their right to do what's best for their business (sic). However, the issue at hand isn't about whether you can or will delist me-it's about your exclusive right on listing our shows. By not allowing artists to list their shows through their own websites, you've effectively prevented me from accessing the audience I've performed for from 2017 to 2025," he further stated in the letter.
According to Kamra, BookMyShow takes a 10 per cent cut of revenue for listing shows.
"However, this raises an important point: No matter how big or small a comedian is, we are all compelled to spend between 6,000 to 10,000 rupees a day on advertising to reach our own audience. This cost is an additional burden that we, as artists, must bear."
Kamra said one might argue that data protection is a concern, but the question of "who protects what data, and from whom, is a much broader conversation".
"What I'm requesting is simple: please ensure that you hand over the contact information of the audiences you've collected from my solo shows so that I can continue living my life with dignity and work towards a fair livelihood. As a solo artist, especially in the world of comedy, we are both the show and the production.
"For instance, if I performed at the Pune Comedy Festival with 30 other artists, that would be considered comedy's collective data. But my solo shows-that's my audience. The least I deserve, should you choose to delist me, is access to them," he wrote.
Kamra's letter comes the same day the comedian moved the Bombay High Court, seeking to quash an FIR lodged against him by the city police for his alleged remarks against Shinde, with the Madras High Court extending his interim anticipatory bail in relation to the case till April 17.
The comic also claimed he has been receiving death threats after the show and hence, requested the police to question him via video conference.
Some social media users have expressed support for Kamra and said they would delete the BookMyShow app if he is delisted as an artist on the platform.
A social media user wrote, "I have decided to #BoycottBookMyShow. What kind of an app tries to hold responsibility for the show content. To whoever tried to force you on Kunal Kamra, @bookmyshow just had to say 'we are not responsible for show content'. You couldn't do that much!"
Another said, "If BookMyShow removed Kunal Kamra from its app. Why don't we all uninstall the BookMyShow app from our phones? 1.They are exercising their freedom; we must exercise ours. 2.If they censor what we like, we should censor what we dislike. #boycottbookmyshow #istandwithkunalkamra."
Kamra is at the centre of a major political controversy in Maharashtra for his comments about Shinde, which he made during a stand up show titled 'Naya Bharat' last month, which led to Shiv Sainiks vandalising the venue, hotel and multiple FIRs against the comedian.
His new stand up show, however, has garnered over 1.3 crore views on his YouTube channel.
Dear @bookmyshow - I still don’t know if I have your platform or no.
— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) April 7, 2025
Below is humble view -
To the audiences I’m not a fan of boycotts or down rating a private business…
Book my show is well within their right to do what’s best for their business | pic.twitter.com/TXaB22sfxI
