SIndhu told to continue playing by sports minister

New Delhi: Wary of the novel COVID-19 threat, top shuttler PV Sindhu on Thursday called up Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju from the United Kingdom, seeking his suggestion on whether to continue playing in the All England Championships.Rijiju said on Friday that he told her to carry on and follow the safety guidelines of that country.

The Sports Ministry had on Thursday issued an advisory asking national federations to follow the Health Ministry's guidelines and avoid large gatherings in sports events. Earlier, it had asked all National Sports Federations to exercise caution while sending teams for foreign competitions.

"Sindhu called me and I told her that those who are playing outside in important tournaments like the Olympic qualifications can continue to play but they should follow guidelines of those respective countries. They should also take certain safety measures," Rijiju told the media after the General Body Meeting of the Sports Authority of India here.

Asked about shuttler P Kashyap expressing confusion regarding the advisory of the Health Ministry through his tweets, Rijiju said, "I have made the clarification that those who are competing abroad should continue."

Rijiju said that Indian players who had taken part in competitions held at the seven notified countries as well as athletes from those nations coming for events here will have to be compulsorily quarantined.

"Whether they are Indian players or foreign athletes, they have to be quarantined," he said. The seven notified countries are China, Iran, South Korea, Italy, France, Spain and Germany.