Tokyo 2020 Olympics: India protests against ‘unfair’ rules for coronavirus-hit countries

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said the new protocols will mean athletes lose three crucial training days

Meanwhile, India’s cricket board (BCCI) has offered financial support after Chinese sportswear maker Li-Ning was dropped as official kit partner

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Narinder Dhruv Batra, president of the Indian Olympic Association, said the Tokyo 2020 rules are ‘highly unfair for Indian athletes’. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:15pm, 21 Jun 2021Updated: 11:34pm, 21 Jun 2021

India’s Olympic body has slammed as “unfair” rules imposed by the Japanese government on athletes from several nations hit by Covid-19 for the Tokyo Games starting next month.

Tokyo 2020 organisers said on Monday that additional measures will be used to reduce infection risks from several countries, including India, that have seen “significant impact from variants” of Covid-19.

The protocols will involve daily testing of athletes for a week before they depart for Japan and for them to “refrain from coming into contact with other teams for three days after they arrive” in Japan.

But the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said the rules would cause athletes to lose three crucial training days.

“Athletes are allowed to arrive in the Games village only five days before their event,” IOA president Narinder Batra and secretary Rajeev Mehta said in a joint statement.

“Now three days will be wasted, this is the time the athletes need to be moving towards their mode to peak … highly unfair for Indian athletes, who have worked hard for five years, to be discriminated against just five days before the Olympics.”