IOA asks 5 Tokyo-bound athletes to take vaccine

IOA President Narinder Batra. Pic/AFP

The Indian Olympic Association on Sunday asked five Olympic-bound sportspersons, who have recovered from COVID-19 in the recent past, to take their first dose of the vaccine as soon as possible. Simranjit Kaur (60kg), who is a 2018 World Championships bronze medallist, is the lone boxer in the list while the other four are shooters, including 19-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary who won a silver medal at this year's ISSF World Cup in the men's 10m air pistol event.

The other three are 2018 Jakarta Asian Games gold medallist Rahi Sarnobat (women's 25m pistol), silver medallist at the same edition Deepak Kumar (10m air rifle) and veteran shotgun shooter Mairaj Ahmed Khan. "Request boxing and shooting to get needful done urgently and revert," IOA President Narinder Batra said in a statement. Simranjit had recently competed at the Asian Championships, losing the her only bout of the event, the semifinals, to fetch a bronze medal.

The Games in Tokyo will open on July 23. The IOA said 120 athletes and 27 para-athletes have so far received at least one dose of the vaccine. The body said that there are 62 fully-vaccinated athletes, including four para athletes. From among coaches and support staff members, 114 have received their first shots while 37 are fully vaccinated. The IOA was supposed to provide details of the country's vaccinated athletes to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by May 27 and had asked the national federations to share the information.

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