The campaign, "Shoot for the Games", follows the announcement earlier this month by the Victorian Government for the process and timelines for the assessment and inclusion of additional phase-two sports to the competition programme.

Shooting had appeared in every Commonwealth Games since Kingston 1966, apart from Edinburgh 1970, until it was not included on the programme for Birmingham 2022.

The decision by Birmingham 2022, supported by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), sparked outrage, particularly in India.

India had finished top of the medals table in the sport at three of the last four Games, including Melbourne 2006, Delhi 2010 and Gold Coast 2018, and it is the country’s most successful sport.

A proposal to hold a separate Commonwealth Archery and Shooting Championships in India was abandoned due to COVID-19.

India’s five-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vijay Kumar today reignited the row when he claimed that shooting had been dropped to stop India winning medals.

"It is very strange and surprising that shooting, in spite of being an Olympic discipline, has been removed from the Commonwealth Games curriculum," Kumar, winner of the men's 25 metres rapid fire pistol singles at Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010, told the Indo-Asian News Service.

"There are a few non-Olympic disciplines in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games curriculum, most likely included at the expense of shooting sport.

"It is very unfortunate that shooting has been left out.

"If you take out a major Olympic discipline from the curriculum, it is bound to disappoint the entire fraternity that plays the sport, and it is no different with the shooting community.

"Circumstantially, I and a lot of people in the fraternity feel that their [the CGF] target was to remove shooting from the Commonwealth Games curriculum.

"If you look at it from a logical perspective, the entire sequence of events, like gradually reducing the number of shooting events and then removing it completely, points to that fact.

"I recently read somewhere that shooting sports are not part of the 2026 Commonwealth Games curriculum as well.

"All these things point to the fact that it’s a move to diminish India’s medal hopes.

"India has emerged a force in the sport.

"So, yes, everyone here is feeling that the country has been targeted.

"If you see, only one Olympic discipline - shooting - has been removed from the curriculum.

"They have targeted the sport we are good at."

India rank second on the all-time medals table for Commonwealth Games shooting, with 63 golds, behind only Australia, who have won 70.

So, it is little wonder that Shooting Australia is keen for the sport to be reinstated to the programme for Victoria 2026.

Launching the campaign, it claims that there are "obvious synergies between a strong participation in target shooting sports across regional Australian communities, including Victoria, and an entirely regional Commonwealth Games in 2026."

Shooting Australia is calling on its community to get behind "Shoot for the Games 2026" by sharing the key messaging across their social media platforms.

It has also enlisted the support of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), World Shooting Para Sports and National Federations in other Commonwealth countries to support its presentation for inclusion at Victoria, which is due next month.

"We are really keen to make sure that our target shooting community finds its collective voice and expresses its strong desire for Shooting’s inclusion in VIC 2026," Shooting Australia chief executive Adam Sachs said.

"Our primary objective is to remind the Victorian Government, the Commonwealth Games Association and the wider public that the target shooting sports have a strong and important presence in the community especially across regional Victoria, and a critical role to play in the medal success of the Australian Team at a home Games in 2026."

The ISSF plans to submit shooting’s proposal to the GCF by August 19.

An announcement regarding phase-two sports to be included for Victoria 2026 is expected in October.

A CGF spokesperson said: "The sports programme for the Commonwealth Games is developed by an Organising Committee and approved by the CGF. 

"Numerous factors are considered in creating this, including cost and benefit to the host city and region. 

"Victoria 2026 have opened their process for the inclusion of additional sports at the event, with the outcome set to be announced later this year."