Coronavirus: Kiren Rijiju opens up about when National camps for Olympic-bound athletes will resume

Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that national camps for Olympic-bound athletes will resume by the end of May in a phase-wise manner.

"The camps will start in a phase-wise manner. First, we will start training in NIS Patiala and SAI, Bengaluru where athletes are based currently...by the end of this month training is expected to start in Bengaluru and Patiala," Rijiju said at FICCI's webinar titled ''Corona & Sports: The Champions Speak''.

"The camps will be for those sports which have qualified for Olympics or the sports whose Olympic qualification is in future. We will relax things partially by looking at the Olympics. For training in contact sports we have to seek the opinion of health experts," he added.

The coronavirus outbreak has brought all sports activities to a halt, players are practising social distancing and self-isolation during the pandemic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the governments all around are urging people to stay at home.

On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released an official order to extend the ongoing lockdown by two more weeks from May 4. This allowed the migrant workers, tourists, students and other persons stranded all across the nation get back home by special trains.

"The relaxation is just partial but we hope to soon have a normal life with a lot of sporting action on the ground. The government should be there to support not to control. We will focus on the grassroots level of the sports post-COVID," the Minister said.

"If an athlete who played for India, is not leading a dignified life and is struggling for basic amenities, we will help them," the Minister added.