There is still no clarity if the Telangana state government will reopen the stadiums and academies for training once the current lockdown ends on July 31.
This is causing anxiety among the athletes. The sports administrators are wary of any resumption of training in the wake of the increasing number of COVID-19 positive cases, mostly being asymptomatic.
But a few of the top athletes from different disciplines feel that some training activity can be resumed with all safety measures in place as 2021 happens to be the Olympic year.
“Yes, it is getting too far now. It is better to have some training,” said ace shuttler B. Sai Praneeth.
The officials, however, are terribly scared. “It is a fact that we are not in a hurry,” said a senior administrator, pointing out to the 45-page dossier of the Standard of Procedure to resume training.
READ|
“It is a long and time-consuming process to be meticulously implemented. Importantly, one of the guidelines for any resumption is to take an undertaking, along with consent forms by the coaches, that they will be responsible if anything untoward happens even as we implement all the COVID-19 safety guidelines including forming Task Force teams,” the official said.
“Honestly, many of the athletes and parents are worried a lot about safety issues,” he added.
“Obviously, we are not in a hurry to reopen the centres in the current situation. The biggest issue being who will keep a 24x7 watch on the athletes with most of them travelling distances for training.
Why should we be the focus of probable blame-game if someone gets affected,” asked the official.
“We will prefer to wait for some more time and see if the situation eases considerably by then,” the official concluded.
Comments
SHARE