Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju updated on the measures taken by the Indian Government for preparations of the Tokyo Olympics. Replying to a Rajya Sabha query Rijiju laid down a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to resume sports activities in training centers in India, under the name ‘Khelo India-Fir Se’.
The SOP covers the roles of all stakeholders at the training centers including athletes, technical and non-technical support staff, hostel, administrative staff and facility management staff. The SOP also categorises the disciplines into contact sports, non-contact sports, minimal/medium contact sports and water sports. The Sports Minister stated a special COVID Task Force Committee has been set up to ensure the guidelines are strictly implemented at all the training centers.
Rijiju confirmed that National Coaching Camps have been resumed for all Olympic bound athletes and the SOP will be strictly followed. A time table will be followed by all the athletes to ensure they train without coming in contact with other athletes
The Sports Minister also stated, “Regular interaction with the athletes was done in order to boost their morale and keep them motivated in these tough times. Seminars and workshops have been organised via video conferencing to educate athletes about how to cope with stress and depression during tough times and focusing on their objectives so that the training is not hampered.”
