NEW DELHI: If all goes according to plan, the Track Asia Cup might be the first international sporting event to be held in the country in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Cycling Federation of India held discussions with Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju regarding hosting the competition on Friday.
According to the UCI world calendar, the event is scheduled to be held from October 30 to November 1.
Hosting the meet in the midst of a pandemic will come with its own set of challenges - from visa formalities to quarantine to testing and ensuring a bio-secure model.
Only after the exact dates for the event are fixed and the number of participating countries and their identities known, will these discussions take shape.
There are chances that the cup might be postponed to November or December but the CFI is adamant that it will be held.
"There will be clarity sometime later this month. We are currently discussing with the Asian Cycling Confederation to check whether any other countries are planning events and trying to finalise the exact number of participating countries.
It will not be like the previous edition where 16 nations took part," CFI chairman Onkar Singh told to this daily.
The competition is important for picking up ranking points which will help India once the World Cups resume next year.
The CFI have also been on the hunt for sponsors for conducting the competition and so far no one has come forward. They do not expect any funding to be forthcoming due to the pandemic and this has been relayed to the Sports Minister, who has assured his support.
Camp starts
The national training camp for sprint cyclists restarted after Triyasha Paul tested Covid-19 negative and everybody finished their quarantine period.
All government SOP's are being followed strictly and this is the first camp to start at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi.
The sports minister along with SAI DG Sandeep Pradhan paid the premises a visit on Friday.