Olympic-bound athletes tested positive for COVID-19

With less than 100 days until the Tokyo Olympic Games, a leading 400m low hurdler and a jumper training at Patiala's National Institute of Sports are among five track and field athletes with Olympic aspirations who have tested positive for Covid-19. "All the athletes have been placed in isolation and will be quarantined for 14 days. They are fine and have no symptoms of coronavirus but their RT-PCR Covid-19 report was positive on Tuesday. The athletes will be out of action for the next two weeks" a national level coach told IANS on condition of anonymity.

One of the athletes who tested positive is a Tamil Nadu athlete who finished second in his event at the 24th National Federation Cup Athletics Championships last month. The other positive athlete is from Kerala. He perfected second in his event at the Federation Cup in Patiala in March.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) had conducted Covid-19 RT-PCR tests as a precautionary measure in both Patiala and for the National Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. In Patiala, 26 of the 313 tests were positive, while in Bengaluru, four of the 428 tests were positive.

"The SAI conducted Covid-19 RT-PCR tests with the safety of the Olympic-bound athletes, coaches, and support staff in mind. And, the reports received confirms that all Olympic-bound athletes in Patiala and Bengaluru are negative," as per a statement issued by SAI on Wednesday.

Taken into consideration the rising number of athletes contracting COVID-19 at top training facilities, the Indian Olympic Association has requested authorities to speed up the process of getting Olympic-bound athletes vaccinated at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi.

As far as thirty athletes and support staff from various sports tested positive after 741 precautionary tests were conducted on Wednesday at the National Centres of Excellence in Patiala and Bengaluru.