SOP for competitions has to be adhered to strictly: SAI DG

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director-General Sandip Pradhan has said that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for competitions has to be adhered to strictly.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director-General Sandip Pradhan has said that the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for competitions has to be adhered to strictly. The SAI, in a statement, said that it has taken cognisance of media reports which state that social distancing norms and other procedures in the SOPs for organising competitions amidst the coronavirus pandemic were allegedly flouted at the National Wrestling Championships held at the Noida Stadium on Saturday.

Pradhan said they have taken up the matter with the Wrestling Federation of India, adding that the federation has assured compliance of protocol. "We have taken up the matter with the Wrestling Federation of India and impressed upon them that the SOP for competitions has to be adhered to strictly. We have also sought a report from the Federation on the alleged violation, by Monday. The federation has assured compliance of protocol," Pradhan said in a statement.

The SAI further said that it has requested Indian Olympic Association to sensitise all National Sports Federations to follow the COVID-19 protocols "strictly to ensure the safety of athletes". On Saturday, Pankaj and Ravinder from Services bagged gold medal in the 57 kg and 61 kg respectively in the 65th Men Senior Freestyle National Wrestling Championship. In the 57 kg category, Aman from Haryana clinched the silver medal while Shubham and Rahul won the bronze medal each.

In the 61 kg category, Maharashtra's Suraj claimed the silver medal while Naveen and Sonba Tanaji both won the bronze medal. Punjab's Sandeep Singh won gold in the 74 kg category while Railways Jitender bagged the silver and the bronze was shared by Amit and his state-mate Vijay. Railways Praveen won the gold in the 92 kg category with Maharashtra's Prithviraj winning the silver and Punjab's Lovpreet Singh and Railways Gopal Yadav sharing the bronze. Sumit, also from RSPB, clinched gold in the 125 kg category and the silver was bagged by Dinesh Dhankar of Haryana. Haryana's Pratyaksh and Rajasthan's Anil Kumar shared the bronze. 

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