Wrestling Federation of India postpones national camp
August 6, 2020
There is fear among India’s elite women wrestlers, fear of catching the coronavirus if they go to the Sports Authority of India Centre in Lucknow – the official venue for national camp for women wrestlers in the country.
The reason for it isn’t the SAI Centre itself, rather it is the building next to the centre – the Haj House, which has been turned into a Covid care facility by the Uttar Pradesh government. Many corona patients are being quarantined at the care centre.
With the likes of Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Pooja Dhanda averse to go to the Lucknow facility, the national camp, which was slated to begin in second week of August, has been postponed again. It was initially proposed to be organized in late-July. The national camp for men, which was slated to be held simultaneously in Sonepat, has also been postponed.
“Some of the star wrestlers have raised objections and are against holding the national camp now. So, both the camps (men and women) have been postponed. The camps will most likely be held next month, any decision over the new dates will be taken after the Independence Day,” WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar told TOI.
