NEW DELHI: Back in March, the archery national camp being held at Army Sports Institute (ASI) in Pune was called off due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the Archery Association of India (AAI) has spoken to Sports Authority of India (SAI) regarding restarting the camp at the same venue.
With the federation de-recognised, SAI has got in touch with ASI and sent a formal proposal. Due to the fear of the virus, the AAI wants all recurve archers, male and female, to be accommodated inside the campus. Currently, only male athletes are allowed to stay inside.
"The main condition we have is for both men and women archers to stay inside. SAI are locked in talks regarding this. Unlike earlier, archers cannot stay outside the premises and come to train as that would increase the likelihood of the infection spreading," a top AAI official told this daily.
Previously, only army archers stayed inside the campus while non-army campers stayed either in hotels or rented apartments close to the facility. It has been a while since female athletes have not been allowed to stay inside the campus. It will be a complicated process and so the federation is keeping options open. However, they hope the proposal will be accepted.
"We are hopeful of receiving positive news by the first week of August. If this does not work out, Tata Academy in Jamshedpur as well as SAI, Sonepat, will be looked at," said the official.
While the men's team has earned an Olympic quota, the women's team is yet to achieve one. They will be targeting the Olympic qualification event in Paris next year.