All national camps, except those preparing for Olympics, postponed due to COVID-19: Rijiju
New Delhi: All national camps, except for those where athletes are preparing for Tokyo Olympics, were on Tuesday postponed until further order in view of the COVID-19 pandemic with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) making arrangements for the return of the trainees to their homes.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said the academic training at the National Centre of Excellence and Sports Auhtority of India Centres will also be suspended. The Olympics are scheduled for July-August this year.
"Due to Covid-19, SAI has decided that: All National camps shall be postponed except for those where athletes are being trained as part of Olympics #Tokyo2020 preparation," Rijiju tweeted.
"Academic training in National Centre of Excellence & STCs shall be suspended till further order," he added.
Rijiju said the move is temporary and precautionary and training will resume if the situation caused by the pandemic improves.
"This is just a temporary and precautionary step for the safety of our sportspersons. I appeal all our young athletes not to be disheartened. We will resume the academic trainings soon after assessing the situation."
Later SAI stated that no tournament, sports function, seminar and workshop will be held till clearance is obtained and restrictions are withdrawn by the central or state authorities.
Hostel facilities of the trainees, however, might be kept open till March 20 to avoid inconvenience to athletes.
"Athletes who have an exam to take in the next few days will be allowed to stay at the center and take the exam. However, it is being ensured that all health procedures are followed and the highest level of hygiene is maintained so that athletes staying back do not catch an infection," the SAI said.
"All other trainees are being sent back home after intimation to parents and while following travel precautions. Those who have their home town within 400 kilometers of the centre will be provided AC-3 tier train ticket. Those whose hometowns are beyond 400 kilometers will be provided with an air ticket."
In India, the shooting World Cup and Indian Open Golf has been postponed so far, while badminton's India Open was also deferred after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) suspended all World Tour and sanctioned events.
A few days back, the government had issued two advisories regarding training and competition of athletes.
The ministry had told those, who were training and taking part in the events abroad especially for Tokyo Olympics qualifiers, to continue their competitions.
Rijiju had also clarified that there was no ban on national events with the advice that they be held without spectators.
The Athletics Federation of India is going ahead with the Indian Grand Prix series, from which athletes can qualify for the Olympics, starting March 20 without spectators.
Earlier, the SAI Centre in Bengaluru was shut down but those training inside were allowed to stay there and continue training.
National sports bodies such as the BCCI, the Boxing Federation of India and the All India Football Federation have decided to work from home.
More than 100 people have so far tested positive in India apart from three deaths. The disease has led to either cancellation or postponement of all sports events the world over in an Olympic year.
More than 7,000 people have been killed globally by the deadly virus, which was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The number of infected has swelled to more than 175,000.
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Iran reimposes restrictions on Strait of Hormuz, accusing US of violating deal to reopen it
Cairo (AP): Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday after the US said it would not end its blockade of Iran-linked shipping.
Iran's joint military command said on Saturday that “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state ... under strict management and control of the armed forces.” It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the US blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.
The announcement came the morning after US President Donald Trump said that even after Iran announced the strait's reopening on Friday, the American blockade “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the US, including on its nuclear programme.
The conflict over the chokepoint threatened to deepen the energy crisis roiling the global economy after oil prices began to fall again on Friday on hopes the US and Iran were drawing closer to an agreement. Roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes through the strait, and further limits would squeeze already constrained supply, driving prices higher once again.
Control over the strait has proven to be one of Iran's main points of leverage and prompted the United States to deploy forces and initiate a blockade on Iranian ports as part of an effort to force Iran to accept a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire to end almost seven weeks of war that has raged between Israel, the US and Iran.
Iran said it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. But after Trump said the blockade would continue, top Iranian officials said his announcement violated last week's ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US and warned the strait would not stay open if the US blockade remained in effect.
A data firm, Kpler, said movement through the strait remained confined to corridors requiring Iran's approval.
US forces have sent 21 ships back to Iran since the blockade began on Monday, US Central Command said on X.
Truce in Lebanon could help US-Iran peace efforts
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The ceasefire in Lebanon could clear one major obstacle to an agreement. But it was unclear to what extent Hezbollah would abide by a deal it did not play a role in negotiating, and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.
Trump said in another post that Israel is “prohibited” by the US from further strikes on Lebanon and that “enough is enough” in the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The State Department said the prohibition applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defence.
Shortly before Trump's post, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel agreed to the ceasefire in Lebanon “at the request of my friend President Trump,” but that the campaign against Hezbollah is not complete.
He claimed Israel had destroyed about 90 per cent of Hezbollah's missile and rocket stockpiles and added that Israeli forces “have not finished yet” with the dismantling of the group.
In Beirut, displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.
The Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon reported sporadic artillery shelling in some parts of southern Lebanon in the hours after the ceasefire took effect.
An end to Israel's war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking last week's ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon. Israel had said that the deal did not cover Lebanon.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,290 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen US service members have also been killed.
