On May 10, 2020, The Sports Authority of India (SAI) headed by SAI secretary Rohit Bharadwaj formed a six-member committee to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for phased resumption of training across sporting disciplines at all the centers once the coronavirus-forced national lockdown is lifted.
Key Points:
i.6-member panel: The six-member panel will be headed by SAI secretary Rohit Bharadwaj and will have CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) Rajesh Rajagopalan, Executive Director (Operations) SS Roy, SS Sarla, Col BK Nayak and Assistant Director TOPS Sachin K as its members.
ii.The panel will draft a SOP, describing protocols and preventive measures to be observed by all stakeholders, including trainees, coaches, technical and non-technical support staff, NSFs (National Sports Federation), administrators, mess, hostel staff and visitors once training resumes.
iii.About SOP: The SOP includes detailed guidelines to be followed on entry norms, sanitization guidelines, precautions to be taken in common areas and by athletes while travelling to and from the centre.
iv.SOP for Swimming: The SAI also stated that a separate committee has been formed to prepare a SOP for swimming, since the sport requires athletes to train in water and may have different health risks involved, as compared to other sports.
v.The committee for swimming will be headed by Executive Director, TEAMS Division of SAI Radhica Sreeman, and will include Monal Choksi, secretary general of the Swimming Federation of India, senior coaches and doctors.
vi.The recommendations of the committees are being made in consultation with all National Sporting Federations and other stakeholders to share their recommendations of preventive measures that must be followed in each sport so as to ensure safety of athletes. The final approval will be sent to the Sports Ministry.
About SAI:
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the apex national sports body of India, established in 1984 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of Government of India for the development of sport in India.
Headquarters– New Delhi.
Director-General– Sandip Pradhan.
