AFI indefinitely postpones next month’s National Throws Championships

The AFI had earlier said that the two-day National Throws Championships meet was scheduled to be held in Patiala on October 26 and 27.

“We consulted coach, high-performance director and others and they expressed their concern on risk of exposure of athletes to COVID-19," AFI president Sumariwalla said (File Photo).

The inaugural National Throws Championships, the only senior-level event slated this year, was on Monday postponed indefinitely by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) due to the rising cases of COVID-19 in the country.

The two-day meet was scheduled to be held in Patiala on October 26 and 27.

“We consulted the chief coach, high-performance director and other coaches and they expressed their concern on risk of exposure of athletes to COVID-19. After consultation with all, we have decided to postpone the throws competition until further notice,” AFI president Adille Sumariwalla said in a statement.

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“We feel the conditions are still not conducive to hold a competition due to COVID-19 pandemic situation. Since it was an open competition, there was a risk for athletes travelling from outside.

“As I have repeatedly said earlier that for us the well-being of our athletes is of utmost importance and competitions will be held only when the situation is conducive,” he added.

Last month, the AFI had cancelled this year’s all national championships, barring the throws event, in view of the coronavirus pandemic, virtually bringing the season to an end without any competition.

The move was on expected lines after the AFI on August 28 decided to defer the season, earlier scheduled to start on September 12 in view of the global health crisis. There has not been any athletics competition so far this season.

Only a few zonal events in November and the National Youth Championships in Vijayawada in December are the other competitions to be held this year.