CHENNAI: The latest travel advisory issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday to combat coronavirus has forced India’s Greco-Roman wrestlers to cut short their training stint in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijan government has also put in place massive restrictions, complicating matters further for the Indian contingent.
Given the situation, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) contacted the Indian embassy in Baku to ensure that the Indian contingent travels back home safely. Six grapplers along with three coaches and a masseur were camping in Baku since March 4. They were scheduled to return on March 22. Now, they will reach India by Tuesday morning.
As per the advisory, the Indian government has expanded compulsory quarantine for a minimum period of 14 days for passengers coming from/transiting through UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait with effect from 1200 GMT, March 18 at the port of first departure. Besides, Azerbaijan has also suspended flights to Doha via Qatar Airlines with effect from March 17. The Indian team has to transit through Qatar while flying back to the country and this could have stranded the wrestlers in Baku had they followed their original schedule.
“We need to fly out by Monday night. Otherwise, we would be stuck here for the next 45 days as the Azerbaijan government has suspended visa processing through ASAN visa. The hall, where we have been training, was also closed on Saturday. Luckily we can fly out for India tonight,” Sunil Kumar (87kg), gold medallist at the 2020 Asian Championships, told this daily from Baku.
Apart from Sunil, Gyanendra (60kg), Aashu (67kg), Gurpreet Singh (77kg), Hardeep (97kg) and Naveen Kumar (130kg) were training in Baku. Foreign coach Temo Kasarashvili and Greco-Roman national coach Hargobind Singh along with Harish Sharma (coach) and Paramjit (masseur) are accompanying the wrestlers. Kasarashvili will leave for Georgia from Baku.
“We’ll reach New Delhi on Tuesday morning via Doha,” Hargobind said. “As soon as travel and other restrictions were put in place by Azerbaijan, we informed the WFI. We also visited the Indian embassy on Monday. It’s quite relieving to know that we will finally fly out tonight,” the coach added.
National camps suspended
The WFI has also suspended national camps going on at SAI Centres in Lucknow and Sonepat for men and women wrestlers. “We’ve suspended the camps till March 31. We’ll keep a close watch on the situation and take a call accordingly,” said Vinod Tomar, assistant secretary of WFI. Earlier, the Chhatrasal Stadium announced its closure on Saturday.