The sports ministry has released guidelines for resumption of competition in the country, paving the way for federations to organise domestic and international meets after nearly a year due to the pandemic.
National Sports Federations (NSFs) have waited to get the go ahead from the government to organise domestic meets, which will be vital for athletes starved of competition in the build-up to the Olympics. The pandemic wiped out the season and many top athletes will be using the domestic competitions to test their preparedness for the Tokyo qualifiers that will start from early 2021.
“The sports competitions may resume, provided no orders of the local authorities prohibit such facilities to resume operation i.e. micro-containment zones and are meant to serve as safety guidelines for organising the sports competition in consonance with any other guidelines issued by state government while granting such permission,” the Standard Operating Procedure says.
“Depending on the risk perception and scale of events, the organising committee may consider making RT-PCR testing of athletes and ASPs carried out within 72 hours prior to the event and its uploading on the website of the organising committee mandatory,” it says.
Spectators will also be allowed. “For outdoor events, spectators will be allowed up to a maximum of 50% of the total capacity of the stadium,” it adds.
A COVID task force formed by the organising committee must monitor the implementation of protocols.
Athletics, shooting and wrestling federations have announced the start of competitions while other federations are expected to firm up their calendars in the next few weeks.
