Don't want foreign athletes to be inconvenienced by quarantine rules, asserts Kiren Rijiju

The Covid-19 pandemic has already pushed back the Tokyo Olympics by a year, with the mega event set to kick-start on July 23, later this year. But, with the pandemic threat still looming over, many of the Olympic qualifying events have been scrapped owing to the restrictions in the host nation. Recently, the Asian boxing qualifiers were called-off, which came as a big blow to the Indian contingent.

Indian Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has assured that the foreign athletes visiting the country for international events won’t face problems due to the prevalent quarantine rules set by the government and would also extend the full support to the National Sports Federations (NSFs) those are planning on hosting global events in the build-up to the Games.

"We don't want international athletes (read Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines) to be inconvenienced by the quarantine rules, so the government will extend all help to make their stay comfortable,” said Kiren Rijiju, on Tuesday.

“However, we have to follow the guidelines issued by the MoHFW and protocols set by them. We have to keep that in mind as well. The participating athletes coming from outside India will have to carry a Covid-19 negative test report and they will be tested again at the Delhi airport. During their stay, their health will be regularly monitored by the organisers. So, we will extend all support," added the official.