Men's national wrestling camp kicks-off, women's camp postponed
After much speculation, the national wrestling camp for men’s started on Tuesday, with Narsingh Yadav, who has finished serving a four-year ban, also set to join the camp. The women’s camp, which was touted to resume, has been postponed after many SAI employees tested positive for the coronavirus.
When the wrestling camp was called off in February, owing to the Covid-19 outbreak, Narsingh Yadav was still serving his four-year doping ban which was imposed in 2016. While the camps were set to re-start in August, the spike in the number of cases postponed it even further. Finally, the men’s national camp started on Tuesday, in Sonepat and since Yadav has already completed his ban, he will join the elite group in the 74kg category soon.
For the moment, Yadav is undergoing a 14-day quarantine period at the SAI campus, in Sonepat, in accordance with Covid-19 protocols and has been tested twice in seven days. The athletes serving quarantine will have to adjust to a diet plan without fresh milk and have to stock dry fruit, as they are prohibited to enter the SAI Campus for now.
“If they (quarantined wrestlers) want to stay in the camp, they (wrestlers) have to adapt to the new system in place due to prevalent circumstances. They will have to depend on what they get from SAI. (Only) Those whose names are on the official list will be allowed inside the campus. Others can’t stay or enter the training zone or interact with the players,” said Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
Meanwhile, the women’s camp, which was supposed to start in Lucknow, in Tuesday, has been postponed after many employees of SAI teste positive for Covid-19. Some of the wrestlers including Divya Kakaran and Pooja Dhanda, showed concerns over the start of the camp with the spike of cases in Lucknow while Vinesh Phogat, who was earlier tested positive for the virus, has now recovered from it. Vinod Tomar stated a final call regarding the matter will be taken after September 15.