Boxer Simranjeet and shooter Saurabh Chaudhary are among the five Olympic-bound athletes who are yet to be given their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Around 120 athletes and 27 para-athletes have received their first dose of the vaccine while 58 athletes and four para-athletes have got their second dose. Moreover, 114 coaches and support staff have got their first dose while 37 members have received their second dose as well.
“Of the actual Olympic bound Athletes only 5 are left for their 1st dose. All five were Covid positive and have since recovered,” sources in the known developments told ANI.
“Boxer Simranjeet, Four Shooters Saurabh Chaudhary, Rahi Sarnobat, Deepak Kumar and
Mairaj Ahmed Khan are ones who have been left. Request Boxing and Shooting to get needful done urgently and revert,” the source informed.
Earlier this week, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra said that the upcoming Tokyo Games will be a level playing field for everyone involved and opined that there is no country that has a significant advantage heading into the Games.
“Athletes have been preparing well, they are as fit as any other in the world. They are raring to go, preparation is going on. Some athletes are here in India, some are abroad, some will reach Tokyo directly. It would be a level playing field for all. The entire contingent is preparing well. When every stakeholder (NSFs, SAI) is on the same page, the work is streamlined,” Batra had told ANI.
When asked about the vaccination of Olympic-bound athletes, Batra said: “From IOC’s side, there is nothing mandatory, they have some guidelines in Tokyo, if you reach the finals and then you test positive for COVID-19, so nobody knows what will happen. But why wait for such a situation, the best solution is that we get every party associated vaccinated. It is our duty to get our athletes vaccinated.”
Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23 and the Games will run up to August 8 this year. The event was slated to be held last year, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.