Coronavirus: NRAI tells shooters to train in country, considers pullout from Olympic test event

India's national shooting federation on Wednesday said it will not allow its shooters to travel abroad for training due to the novel coronavirus threat and won't hesitate in pulling out of a Tokyo Olympics Test event in April if it becomes a health risk. Indian shooters are scheduled to travel to Tokyo to participate in the Olympic Test event slated to take place from April 16 to 26 in the Japanese capital, which will host the main event in July-August this year.

"We have chosen our test event team but we are yet to decide. I'm not going to risk any one of those kids. If we feel or receive any advice from the Indian Olympic Association(IOA) or the international federation, our own mission in Tokyo, it isn't worth the risk," National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Raninder Singh said on Wednesday. "We are not allowing our shooters to travel overseas to train as well due to the virus. If a shooter is infected in the test event than we are subjecting him or her to the gravest of danger and then that shooter won't be able to participate in the Olympics hampering our chances of winning a medal," he added.

The novel coronavirus, which originated in China, has spread to other countries as well, including Japan, South Korea and Italy among others.