All sports events shut till April 15, Indian GP set to be postponed

Vinayak Padmadeo
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 19

The Sports Ministry’s latest advisory to all sports organisations against holding any events has all but ended the hopes that the Indian Grand Prix-I — scheduled to be held at NIS in Patiala tomorrow — would be held.

Additionally, all Sports Authority of India (SAI) facilities too will be shut for the duration.

Yesterday, SAI had said that it will not allow outsiders at the Grand Prix in Patiala, including technical officials needed for the conduct of the competition.

“In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which has led to sports events being stalled across the globe and in India. It has been directed that all sports organisations and their affiliate units are advised against holding any sports events, including competitions or selection trials till April 15th 2020,” the Sports Ministry said in its circular today.

The circular added: “However for athletes preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, they may be exempt from this, subject to the following restrictions: i) No exposure to athlete be allowed from outside in the campus where training is underway; ii) No coach, technical/support staff, athlete etc. presently in the training camp and not staying in the training campus be allowed to interact or mingle with trainee athletes without following the quarantine protocols.”

No permission

SAI secretary Rohit Bharadwaj had earlier written to the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla, saying SAI would not give permission to hold the meet in Patiala in view of the pandemic.

“…In this regard, it is informed that in order to protect trainees of SAI from the exposure of coronavirus (Covid-19), it has been decided at the highest level that all the facilities of SAI will be closed for training except for those who are preparing for the Olympics. Further, as per the guidelines issued by the Government, no events/competitions, workshops etc. will take place in SAI,” Bharadwaj wrote in his letter dated March 18.

“In view of the above, it is informed that SAI will not be able to allow any outsiders to the campus including technical officials for the purpose of conducting Indian Grand Prix-I, II & III,” he added.

AFI keeps hope

However, Sumariwalla stated that the meet has not been cancelled or postponed as of now.

“We are discussing the situation with the government. Every two hours a new circular is coming out. See, the government is trying to do its job, which is to try and contain the spread of this virus. Our job is to keep our athletes as safe as possible but right now everything is in a flux,” Sumariwalla told The Tribune.

“We will follow what the Government has to say. But having said that, the IOC sent out a circular saying everything is on time (for the Olympics) and Japan Prime Minister said everything is in time so we also have to see whilst protecting our athletes how best to prepare them for the Games,” the AFI chief added.

When pressed about the actual status of the Indian Grand Prix, he informed that they are trying to figure out a few solutions regarding the holding of the meet.

“It’s a difficult task that we have in our hands. The IGP is neither cancelled nor postponed at the moment,” he said. “We are trying to figure out whether we can hold it in another format because they (athletes) are all in the camp. They have to run so whether they run in a meet or run as a practice, that we will have to figure out.”

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.