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IOA keeps fingers crossed on Asian Beach Games in China
India has competed in each of the five previous continental beach games—only second to the Asian Games on the Olympic Council of Asia’s (OCA) pecking order—and has till date and has won a total of 46 medals overall, including 12 gold.
The developing COVID-19 situation in India is making it tough for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to select a contingent for the Asian Beach Games, to be held in the Chinese city of Sanya from November 28 to December 5 this year.
India has competed in each of the five previous continental beach games—only second to the Asian Games on the Olympic Council of Asia’s (OCA) pecking order—and has till date and has won a total of 46 medals overall, including 12 gold. Their best position in the games among 45 competing countries is sixth—in Muscat (2010) and Haiyang (China) (2012). Initially the Games were held every two years, but later it became a quadrennial affair with the Vietnamese city of Da Nang hosting it in 2016 where a 208-member strong India contingent had finished 16th.
The Games in Sanya will feature 22 disciplines, including beach kabaddi and beach wrestling, in which India is strong.
“A lot of team have to meet the selection criterion, though the beach volleyball team has made the grade. I cannot give the complete list or number of qualified athletes as the IOA office is closed,” said Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary-general Rajiv Mehta.
“When the lockdown is lifted opens, we will try to ensure that the maximum number of teams and individuals achieve qualification standards. As far as the hosting city organising committee is concerned, they have got a clean chit from the OCA and they are ready to host the Games, as there is not a single coronavirus case (reported there for some time now). They have given a guarantee to the OCA that it is a corona-free zone,” said Mehta.
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But for India, and probably many more Asian countries grappling the virus, the biggest concern is whether they would be select and send their teams amid the pandemic. “Our concern is that the lockdown in India might go on for a long time and the (virus) peak could come sometime in September, which will be very close to the Games. The (virus) situation we are in is just the start, I feel,” he said.
“With athletes in lockdown and no competitions for team selection taking place, we will wait for the OCA to come up with criteria and guidelines for selection. Like the IOC (International Olympic Committee) did in the case of the Olympics; they froze the rankings in some sport, while extending the qualification dates in other disciplines. For us, like many other countries, it’s wait-and-watch.
In fact, there was an IOC meeting scheduled on May 7-8 where there were plans to take stock of the situation and Olympic qualification criteria, among other issues. “The OCA had also planned something similar to take a cue from the IOC. But the IOC meeting got postponed by a month. So, now, the OCA and the IOA will keep a meeting on June 9 or 10 to discuss this (selection criteria) issue,” said Mehta.
