SAI centres in Covid’s grasp

New Delhi, January 21

The rise in Covid-19 detections has once again started to affect preparations of the Indian teams for the upcoming competition calendar. While 33 persons, including players and staff from the senior men’s and the junior women’s hockey teams, have tested positive in Bengaluru, five members from the archery team are currently in quarantine at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Sonepat centre.

The spate of positive cases in Sonepat has come as a roadblock for holding a junior national camp that was to start on February 1. The camp was being planned for two competitions – indoor championships in Switzerland in February and junior Asian championships in Thailand in March. Further, the team was to travel to Germany in between for training. However, the plans for the camp have been put on hold.

Over 10 archers, who returned from participating at the National Ranking Archery Tournament in Hyderabad, tested positive. In the next set of tests, the number jumped to 15.

Five archers and seven coaches are in quarantine in Sonepat. Interestingly, SAI allowed some of the archers, who were from nearby towns, to leave the premises for home quarantine.

SAI and the Archery Association of India (AAI) officials will take at least until January 28 to decide whether to hold the camp.

“No archery camp is approved by SAI in NCOE, Sonepat. We will do a review of the Covid situation on January 28 and depending on the situation a decision will be taken in consultation with the Archery Association of India,” SAI told The Tribune on Friday.

Hockey teams in quarantine

Things are equally bleak in Bengaluru, where 33 fresh cases have been detected. Sixteen athletes and a coach from the men’s hockey team have tested positive. The team is currently training for the FIH Pro League. All the members of the men’s team are asymptomatic.

Similarly, 15 players from the junior women’s team have tested positive, and 12 of them are symptomatic. All the infected players are in isolation.

A senior woman hockey player and a masseuse from the athletics team are the others who have been detected with the Covid-19 virus from the 128 samples taken from the centre.

“SAI is taking all the necessary steps to treat the players in isolation and help them recover steadily,” SAI said in a statement.