insidethegames had reported yesterday that the country's Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore had written to Martin complaining about their quota.

Martin has now written back to Rathore to clarify the selection process and re-assure him that India could still qualify as many as 219 athletes for Gold Coast 2018, the same amount they had at Glasgow 2018.

"India's primary individual sport allocation is 135 athletes (of which 73 male and 62 female slots have been forecasted by your team in the entry by number)," Martin wrote in a letter seen by insidethegames. 

"India has qualified in two team sports (Basketball and Hockey) in both men's and women's tournaments (of which 30 male and 30 female athletes are assigned).

"India has qualified in all weight categories in both Men's and Women's Weightlifting (of which 8 male and 8 female athlete slots are assigned)

"India has qualified in Para-Table Table (of which two slots are assigned).

"Based on the above, India has already qualified for 213 slots for Gold Coast 2018 compared to the total number of slots in Glasgow 2014 of 219.

"India may still qualify in Para-Swimming, Para-Powerlifting and/or Beach Volleyball, which all finish in mid-December 2017.

"Based on the Glasgow 2014 entries - India entered 2 athletes in Para-Swimming events and 4 athletes in Para-Powerlifting events."

Martin has also tried to address Rathore's concerns that shooting will not feature at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The sport is not among the list of 10 core sports dictated by the CGF and it is widely believed that if Birmingham are awarded the Commonwealth Games in 2022 then they do not plan to include it on the programme.

The English city is currently the only bidder for the Games.

India has won a total of 118 medals, including 56 gold, in shooting since the sport made its Commonwealth Games debut at Kingston in 1966.

The only country that has won more medals in the sport is Australia. 

"We are currently in the process of evaluating potential hosts for 2022 and will assess each one on the merits of their proposal in accordance with the provisions outlined in our Constitution," Martin wrote. 

"This being said, I do believe it would be useful to discuss the development of shooting sport in the Commonwealth Sports Movement and our future relationships with the ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) as we move forward."