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Coronavirus outbreak: Neeraj Chopra, Shivpal Singh take emergency flight home
Neeraj Chopra and fellow javelin thrower Rohit Yadav have been training under Klaus Bartonietz, German bio-mechanic expert attached to the Indian squad, in Turkey.
India’s leading javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is cutting short his Olympic preparation in Turkey and dashing home before the government’s new health advisory of a blanket ban on visitors from that country come into effect on Wednesday, the national athletics federation head said.
Chopra and fellow javelin thrower Rohit Yadav have been training under Klaus Bartonietz, German bio-mechanic expert attached to the Indian squad, in Turkey. He was scheduled to return home only before the Federation Cup meet in Patiala from April 10-13, but he now has to take a flight home immediately. Bartonietz is travelling with Chopra to ensure the training doesn’t suffer in the Olympic year.
“Travel of passengers from member countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Turkey and United Kingdom to India is prohibited with effect from 18th March 2020. No airline shall board a passenger from these nations to India with effect from 1200 GMT on 18th March 2020. The airline shall enforce this at the port of initial departure,” said the notification issued late on Monday. The compulsory quarantine of a minimum 14 days has also been expanded to passengers coming from or transiting via UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait from Wednesday.
“We do not want to take any risk with our athletes and that’s why we want to call them back immediately. Every country is sealing its border. The situation is changing every minute and we have to follow the government guidelines in the best interest of our athletes,” said Adille Sumariwalla, AFI president.
Another group of Indian throwers, including Shivpal Singh, who has qualified for the Olympics with Chopra, is training in Potchefstroom, South Africa, under India’s chief javelin coach Uwe Hohn, a former world record holder from Germany. The other three throwers based in South Africa are Vipin Kasana, Arshdeep Singh and Annu Rani. They will head home with Hohn on March 21.
The AFI requested the government on Tuesday to provide a smooth passage to the two German coaches. “We have made a request to the ministry to give instructions to the authorities after necessary screening at the airport. The safety of the athletes and coaches is paramount,” Sumariwalla said.
When contacted, Yadav said that they are on their way back home. “The training is going fine but we are coming back,” he said.
Shivpal said the contingent has been asked to return. “We have been told to pack our luggage as we can come anytime,” he said over phone from South Africa.
No international competition
Shivpal, 24, achieved the qualifying standard of 85m with an effort of 85.47m at the ACNW Meeting in South Africa this month. Chopra, a major medal contender, also qualified in South Africa last month with a throw of 87.86m. It was his first competition since returning after an elbow surgery that had sidelined him for around 18 months.
Chopra had looked to build up in the Diamond League series, but the first three legs–April 17 in Qatar, May 9 in China and May 16 in Shanghai—were postponed on Tuesday. “The current plan is to stage the Shanghai event on August 13. New dates for Doha and China remain to be announced,” the Diamond League announced.
Chopra is also scheduled to take part in the Federation Cup meet in India, besides some other events in Europe. The Federation Cup is on, but the chances of the international competitions being held look bleak. “Everything is so doubtful right now. I’m unable to plan anything but it is important for me to get competitions because I am coming back from injury,” Chopra said on Sunday.
Indian Grand Prix
The Indian domestic season will commence on March 20 with the Indian GP. All three legs will be held in Patiala and will be conducted only for athletes who are part of the national camps. There will be limited number of events focused on Olympic qualification. “The event will be held without spectators. Also, the officials and competitors will be asked to disperse as soon as the event is over,” said Sumariwalla.
Those who had paid entry fee for the Grand Prix will be refunded and will be given an opportunity to compete in a separate competition AFI will organise once the coronavirus crisis eases, the federation said in a statement on Tuesday.
The second leg will be held on March 25 and third on March 29. Originally, the second leg was scheduled at Sangrur, Punjab and the third in Delhi, but AFI confined the events to one venue to help the athletes avoid travel.
National Camps shut
AGENCIES ADdAll national camps, except for those where athletes are preparing for Tokyo Olympics, were on Tuesday postponed until further order in view of the COVID-19 pandemic with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) making arrangements for the return of the trainees to their homes. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said the academic training at the National Centre of Excellence and SAI centres will also be suspended.
“Due to Covid-19, SAI has decided that: All National camps shall be postponed except for those where athletes are being trained as part of Olympics preparation,” Rijiju tweeted. “Academic training in National Centre of Excellence & STCs shall be suspended till further order,” he added.
Rijiju said the move is temporary and precautionary and training will resume if the situation caused by the pandemic improves. Later SAI stated that no tournament, sports function, seminar and workshop will be held till restrictions are withdrawn. Hostel facilities of the trainees, however, might be kept open till March 20 to avoid inconvenience to athletes.
