NEW DELHI: The French government and the LOC of the Final Olympic Qualification Event and World Cup Stage III in Paris have informed Archery Association of India that quarantine rules have been relaxed. This has come as a major relief for the Indian team after it missed out on the chance to participate at the Lausanne World Cup.
According to information received, the mandatory quarantine rule of 10 days will not be applicable for this particular competition and only negative RT-PCR test reports will be enough. In a meeting held on Tuesday, AAI officials have decided to send the women's team — Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat, Komalika Bari and Madhu Vedwan (reserve) — three days in advance. Their Olympic qualification event starts from June 18.
"The team will be practising there for a couple of days to get used to the conditions. We will also be sending a five-member support staff including two coaches with them. We are very confident of securing a women's team berth," AAI secretary general Pramod Chandurkar confirmed to this daily.
The men's team and the both compound teams will be leaving for the World Cup on a later date and reaching a day before their events commence. The World Cup begins from June 21.
After the team finishes their engagements there, the plan is to bring them to New Delhi instead of Pune, where they will have to sort out their kits and accreditation. That process might take around four-five days and the federation has spoken to SAI regarding training plans for those days.
The federation also intimated that after the formalities are completed, the Olympic team is expected to fly out to Japan where they are scheduled to be put up in Kurobe City as was earlier agreed upon. But it remains to be seen whether the current Covid-19 situation in Japan allows for it. Also, there is apprehension regarding the archers arrival in the national capital especially considering the grim situation here. The shooting team, which left for Croatia on Tuesday, will not be coming back to the country but will instead fly straight to Tokyo which is a much safer option at the moment.