National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) will name two reserves in each discipline for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in order to tackle the challenges possessed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We will have the meeting either on April 3rd or 4th, subject to the availability of people. I prefer a personal interaction but if we have to do it over Zoom then we will do it," NRAI president Rnder Singh told reporters on Sunday.
"We will also be announcing two reserves per event. If the selected shooter is infected then the one named Reserve 1 will be sent. If both get infected then we will send Reserve 2," he added.
Singh further said that shooters will need more international competitions ahead of the prestigious quadrennial event and added that NRAI is planning to shift the Tokyo-bound team in a secure bio-bubble before the Olympics.
"We are looking for an advisory from the health ministry regarding when the peak of this Covid-19 is expected. My first priority now is to think about their exposure or competitions. We have experienced and highly exposed athletes, but you can be anyone, the best in the world, you will be rusty if you do not have international exposure. We are ready, we need to get the rustiness out," he said.
"But at the same time, it is equally important to make sure that our athletes are protected from Covid-19. It is a difficult thing to keep people away from the families, and it can be counter-productive. We are looking at the peak period, and we are planning to keep them in the bio-bubble till the Olympics with only one intention to minimise the possibility of them getting ill," he added.
India on Sunday signed off from the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting range in style, winning 15 golds, nine silver and six bronze medals. India finished at the top of the table with 30 medals in total.
( With inputs from ANI )
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