25 June,2020 07:22 AM IST | New Delhi | PTI
Narinder Batra
India's sporting community, including athletes, favours a resumption of training as soon as the COVID-19 lockdown ends completely, according to a survey conducted by the Indian Olympic Association. But IOA is disappointed that many stakeholders did not contribute to the exercise. The IOA President Narinder Batra last month asked athletes, support staff, National Sports Federations (NSFs), State Olympic Associations (SOAs), to respond to a set of questions on the way forward in the wake of the pandemic which has brought sporting activities to a grinding halt worldwide.
More than 75 per cent of the 450 respondents said it would be appropriate to resume training as soon as the lockdown ends, but with strict protocols on social distancing and personal hygiene. The government imposed the lockdown in March and began offering relaxations on the restrictions at the end of last month. "Training for national campers should be allowed immediately upon lifting of lockdown while other training should be put on hold until later in the year," the White Paper said.
Batra expressed disappointment at the lukewarm response from majority of NSFs and State Olympic Associations. Those who responded included national federations of hockey, athletics, boxing and weightlifting among others.
"I am disappointed that most of NSFs or SOAs have not contributed to the study in any way, not even indirectly by sharing the survey with their constituents. In fact, I gathered from a number of athletes that their respective NSFs did not share the survey with them at all," he said.
ALSO READ
Mid-Day Top News: Maharashtra assembly polls likely only after Diwali and more
Congress: Centre insensitive to statehood restoration demand, will be poll issue
Yunus accuses Sheikh Hasina of destroying Bangladesh's institutions
Manipur: Woman killed after getting caught in crossfire
Sinner, Alcaraz are new kings!
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.
Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
