Finance
By: Shree1news, 29 DEC 2020
The Sports Ministry has launched tips for resumption of competitors within the nation, paving the way in which for federations to organise domestic and international meets after nearly a year because of the pandemic.
National Sports Federations (NSFs) have waited to get the go forward from the government to organise domestic meets, which will be vital for athletes starved of competition within the build-up to the Olympics. The pandemic wiped out the season and many high athletes can be using the domestic competitions to test their preparedness for the Tokyo qualifiers that will start from early 2021.
“The sports competitions may resume, supplied no orders of the local authorities prohibit such facilities to resume operation i.e. micro-containment zones and are supposed to function security tips for organising the sports activities competitors in consonance with some other guidelines issued by state government while granting such permission,” the Standard Operating Procedure says.
“Depending on the risk perception and scale of events, the organising committee may consider making RT-PCR testing of athletes and ASPs carried out within 72 hours prior to the event and its uploading on the website of the organising committee mandatory,” it says.
Spectators can even be allowed. “For outdoor events, spectators can be allowed up to a maximum of 50% of the total capacity of the stadium,” it adds.
A COVID task force shaped by the organising committee should monitor the implementation of protocols.
Athletics, shooting and wrestling federations have introduced the start of competitions while other federations are expected to firm up their calendars in the next few weeks.
“We started our zonal competition (East Zone) in Guwahati from today,” Adille Sumariwalla, Athletics Federation of India president, mentioned. “We are hopeful of starting our revised national calendar. We have our SOP prepared. The event can be spread out and all measures will be taken for the safety of the athletes.”
AFI can also be planning to conduct its junior meet in Guwahati in February.
As per the revised athletics calendar for 2021, the first two Indian Grand Prix legs are scheduled in Kerala. The first leg can be held on February 12. The national race walk championships are scheduled in Ranchi on February 13. The first athletics meet of 2021 is scheduled for March 10 in Patiala. The Inter-State scheduled in Bengaluru in June will be the last event before the Olympics.
“We were ready to hold competition in September but it never happened. Since the government is also keen to start competition to give a good start to the Olympic hopefuls, we expect things to move in the right direction,” Sumariwalla mentioned.
In shooting, the domestic choice trials on the Karni Singh shooting range here from January 5 would be the first competition after 11 months. It is going to assist select the national squad for the 2021 international fixtures, including the ISSF World Cup here in March. India’s 15 shooters who have won quota spots for the Olympics and other top shooters will compete.
The Wrestling Federation of India has announced nationals across three cities in January-February. The men’s freestyle competition can be held in Noida (Jan 23-24), the women’s event will take place in Agra (Jan 30-31) and the Greco-Roman national is likely to be held in Jalandhar (Feb 20-21).
“The SOP is the green signal to hold competitions. We can be strictly following the guidelines. The players need to prepare for international events and Olympic qualifiers,” mentioned WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar.
WFI has requested the participants to carry RT-PCR COVID negative certificates. Only two coaches can accompany a team. “We will follow all the norms. There can be a limited number of participants at one time and rest will have to wear masks.”
The entries for domestic shooting trials have been restricted. “We have entries of nearly 200 shooters for pistol, rifle and shotgun and we have finalised an SOP for the event. We will stagger the timings for the occasions. We will allow only one person (coach/physio) to accompany a shooter,” mentioned National Rifle Association of India secretary, Rajeev Bhatia.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) will resolve its competition schedule at its AGM in New Delhi on Wednesday. “We will also be discussing the cities which are safe to hold tournaments,” BAI general secretary, Ajay Singhania, mentioned.
There will still be hiccups in organising occasions as the consent of the respective state is required. “Not every state is allowing competition at the moment. So, permission of the state government is crucial,” mentioned a federation official.
Source:A-N
