Not in a rush to restart shooting camp and put athletes at risk, claims D. V. Seetharama Rao
15 Indian shooters have already qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics
|The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) is not in a position to rush things and start their national camp amid the pandemic situation and put the athletes in a risk. The spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the past week has been alarming, which might cause a further delay, es
On June 26, the National Rifle Association of India announced a list of 32 shooters who would undergo training with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in sight, but a date was not finalised yet. With the pandemic situation worsening day by day, resumption of the national camp at the Karni Singh Shooting Range might get pushed back even further. On the other hand, the NRAI has stated that they are not in a hurry to re-start training and put the athletes at a risk, but they are trying hard to restore normalcy.
“We are trying our best along with the Indian Olympic Association and Sports Authority of India to revive practice as soon as possible but it all must be conducive. We are having regular meetings on Zoom. We cannot even put a single athlete at risk. If we rush things, the ranges will become a breeding ground for the virus,” said D. V. Seetharama Rao, general secretary of the NRAI, as reported by Sportstar.
“We cannot set a date, as of now. The pandemic has taken such a shape that any date we look forward to might get pushed back again. It is not possible to even call people to the office or the Karni Singh Shooting Range until public transport starts functioning normally,” added the official.
Rajiv Bhatia, the secretary of NRAI is hopeful that there would be some clarity by July 15 regarding the possible restart of the training camp. Delhi is the frontrunner to host the camp, with the Karni Singh Shooting Range having all the facilities necessary, even though they have a back-up option as well.
