Shooting: Commonwealth Games exclusion could be 'good' for Scotland, says Seonaid McIntosh
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McIntosh (right) was a double bronze medallist at last year's Commonwealth Games in Australia
Seonaid McIntosh hopes the exclusion of shooting from the 2022 Commonwealth Games will end up being "a good thing" for the sport in Scotland.
Shooting has been controversially omitted from the Birmingham schedule.
McIntosh, a double bronze medallist at last year's Games on the Gold Coast, believes the "disappointing" decision could raise standards.
"You will lose people at the bottom and that's sad, but I think your top end people will get better," McIntosh said.
"They'll have to if they want to continue in the sport.
"So I'm hoping it makes the sport step up in this country, because if you don't have Commonwealth Games the next logical next step for people to aim for is European or Olympic Games."
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) say the decision to exclude the sport from the 2022 Games will have a negative impact.
"It may cause damage to some member States of the Commonwealth. Especially those which don't participate in all sports, but actively develop the shooting sport and count on deserved medals," a spokesperson said.
"There is also an economic component. Many athletes and national federations planned to prepare for the Commonwealth Games, got the financial support of national Olympic committees and sports ministries. Non-inclusion of the sport in the Games programme completely destroys these plans and causes adverse economic consequences."
Current world number one McIntosh has followed up her Commonwealth achievements by adding two World Cup golds and a silver, as well as a European gold and bronze, in a hugely successful 2019.
The next target is a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the 23-year-old is taking nothing for granted.
"I have no idea how I'll react to being in an Olympics, I've never been in one before," she said.
"You can tell yourself it's just another competition and try to pretend it's the same, but it's not. It's completely different, people's behaviour changes."