Athletes Will Be Vaccinated Before Tokyo Olympics: Kiren Rijiju
Mumbai: Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju have said that whenever there is an international competition in India, he will ensure that international athletes are asked to remain in quarantine for at least one day so that they are not discouraged.
The ISSF Combined Shooting World Cup is to be held in Delhi from 18-29 March. The New Delhi World Cup will be played for the first time in the ISSF World Cup stage, with new team formats approved by the ISSF last year. All selections were based on the latest NRAI rankings. Korea, Singapore, USA, United Kingdom, Iran, Ukraine, France, Hungary, Italy, Thailand and Turkey have already confirmed their participation in the World Cup.
“I have already assured that whenever there is an international competition in India, we will take such steps so that protocols are maintained and foreign players will not be put in a quarantine where their duration is extended and they are discouraged. If our players are asked to stay in quarantine for 14 days, then they also would not like to go. Some protocols are there and we will do our best so that the players can be asked to stay in quarantine for minimal days,” he said.
“We will maintain everything properly. We will ask the athletes to test for their native country COVID-19, they will be tested again as soon as they reach India. We will keep them in a good environment so that their health is taken care of,” he added.
“The athletes will be vaccinated before the Olympics. The Sports Ministry has decided that once Covid-19 warriors are vaccinated, then our priority is to vaccinate our athletes who are Tokyo Olympics-bound. Overall priority needs to be decided by the Health Ministry. Our Sports Ministry has already stated that we have a priority of vaccinating our athletes,” he added.
Rijiju also said that he is highly optimistic about India’s prospects in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and the minister said that the contingency will make the country proud.
“Tokyo Olympics postponed for one year, but dates are the same. Due to Kovid, precautionary measures and protocols need to be regulated, every country is preparing for the Olympics. Tokyo Olympics would go ahead, there is no doubt about it. Olympics will go ahead and India will do well too,” Rijiju signed off.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.
