Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to be held in the Japanese capital from July 23 to August 8.
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Tokyo Olympics -bound Indian shooting contingent that is currently in Zagreb will leave for Tokyo on July 16 and reach the Japanese capital the following day. In Tokyo, the shooters and their support staff are expected to quarantine for three to four days as they are entering Japan.
Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to be held in the Japanese capital from July 23 to August 8.
“Since they are not in India (where the number Covid cases was high when the shooters left for Croatia in May), they will not be required to do a long quarantine, which is mandatory for those travelling directly from India,” a National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) source told PTI.
“The contingent is leaving on July 16 and reaching Tokyo on July 17. It is going to be a long journey but I think there will be a transit, he said.
India’s shooting contingent had left for Zagreb on a charter flight on May 11 for their final stretch of preparations for the Olympics.
The plan was always to head straight into the Games from Zagreb.
The team, however, could not set the stage ablaze in the recently-concluded ISSF World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, where it won one gold, a silver, and two bronze medals for a 10th-place finish. One of the coaches asserted that the team is headed in the right direction.
“The coaches are working on their game, helping them with their inputs. Skill-wise, they are proven shooters with some great results backing them. And their mindset is also not at all a problem heading into the Games,” the coach said.
“Shooters who are competing in one event are generally training one session (in a day). Those going to take part in two events are doing two sessions. The coaches have developed specific plans for the shooters and they are being followed religiously,” he added.
Asked about reports that the pistol team’s long-time foreign coach Pavel Smirnov got into a dispute with the security, an NRAI source called it a small issue that has been sorted.
“Yes, there was an issue but it was a small (one). The security and the coach got into an argument over thermal screening at the entry gate. I think words were exchanged, following which the matter was reported to the security’s supervisors.
“However, the Croatian shooting federation then stepped in and resolved the issue amicably. So it’s all good now,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
The Indian contingent shifted base to Zagreb as it was considered safer for them to train there. India was reeling under a devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
