Sports Authority of India has issued a health advisory to all National Sports Federations on the coronavirus, stating clearly that athletes' health comes first and advising the National Sports Federations (NSFs) to be careful while planning foreign competitions and training stints. It has advised all sports federations to adhere to WHO and International Olympic Committee guidelines on coronavirus.
The sports calendar has gone haywire internationally, with hosts Japan restricting or cancelling several Olympic Test events. It is a crucial time for both Indian and international athletes as several Olympic qualifiers as well as Test events are scheduled in March-May. SAI oversees overall planning of the participation of athletes in competitions, especially those representing India in international competitions like Olympics.
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“The Coronavirus outbreak has had consequences and repercussions across the globe. 2020 is a very important year in the world of sports with the Olympics set to take place in Tokyo, Japan in July and August. However in light of the outbreak of the Corona Virus in several countries in the world, including some reported cases in India, the Government has advised all National Sports Federations to exercise caution while planning foreign competitions and training for the teams and individual athletes in the light of the importance of some of these competitions which contribute to Olympic qualification. A copy of the advisory has been sent to all the NSFs.”
The statement further quoted a para from the advisory saying, "While the government understands the criticality of ranking tournaments and Olympic qualifiers, you would understand that the health of our athletes takes precedence. Therefore we would like to request the NSFs to adhere by the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had issued its own health advisory on the Coronavirus on 19th February."
There is already talk of the Tokyo Olympics getting postponed due to the impact of coronavirus. While Japan's Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto said so recently, IOC has steadfastly held that the Olympics will go ahead as per schedule.
The virus outbreak has already affected the Asian Badminton Championships, which also doubles up as Olympic qualifiers. It has been moved to Manila from Wuhan, China—the epicentre of the pandemic. Top players like Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth are looking to book their Olympics berth in that tournament.
Meanwhile, the ISSF Shooting World Cup to be held in New Delhi from March 15, has seen more countries dropping out due to the visa ban enforced by the Indian government.
The ISSF today announced that no ranking points will be up for grabs for this World Cup. "Due to local restrictions relating to the COVID-19 virus introduced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India, the organizers of the ISSF World Cup in New-Delhi cannot guarantee the participation of all the athletes who would like to enter those competition," it said in a statement.
However, it added, that it will be possible to achieve minimum qualification scores in the competition which will make a difference for those shooters aiming for an Olympic quota later on.
The Indian Open badminton tournament, too, has seen many withdrawals.
BCCI, meanwhile, is yet to consider any change in its forthcoming IPL schedule. Also, South Africa comes to India next week for a three-match ODI series.