SAI shuts down 67 training facilities due to rise in COVID-19 cases

The centres will be reopened once the situation is under control, the sports body said.

The rising number of cases of COVID-19 have been affecting almost every sector in the country. Now the consequences are unravelling in the sporting fields too. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Monday announced that it has decided to close its 67 training centres across the country.

"In view of rising cases of COVID-19 the Sports Authority of India has decided to close the 67 SAI Training centres across the country," the SAI said in a statement. "The decision also comes in the wake of directives issued by various states to suspend sporting activities for the safety of athletes," it added.

SAI will be reopen the facilities once the situation is under control.

Before the SAI made this announcement, several state governments had banned sporting activities amid rising cases in the country. A few days back, the Bihar government issued alerts and restrictions on all large scale events. This also included sporting ones as it closed down all the stadiums and sports arenas in the state. States like Haryana, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Delhi too have put a hold on sporting activities.

Last week the I-League was postponed for six weeks due to the same reason. This is after all the clubs unanimously agreed for its postponement, after multiple players in the bio-bubble tested positive for the virus.

This sudden rise in case could well mean another indefinite pause for the sportspersons around the country.

However, some tournaments like the India Open 2022 are still taking place. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) had earlier announced that it would go on as scheduled.

India reported 1,79,723 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The number of active cases has increased to 7,23,619, which is the highest in the last 204 days, while the death toll has climbed to 4,83,936 with 146 fatalities reported this morning by the health ministry.

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