The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was optimistic of Apurvi Chandela joining the Olympic shooting team for the trip to Zagreb, despite testing positive for COVID-19.
“Apurvi had got her vaccination done on April 28. Her father has said that she would seek an RT-PCR test on May 8 and join the team,” said NRAI secretary Rajeev Bhatia.
“I am trying to recover as fast as possible,” said Apurvi from her home in Jaipur.
Apurvi’s coach Rakesh Manpat said that he had recovered from the virus in Bengaluru and was ready to join Apurvi for the training-cum-competition trip to Europe once she returned a negative test.
“Our passports have been submitted for the visa,” clarified Rakesh.
Considering the unstable situation due to escalation of the pandemic in India, the NRAI has planned to have a training camp in Zagreb, Croatia, for the Olympic-bound shooters.
The Indian team will compete in the European championships from May 20. Thereafter, the shooters will be based in Croatia for further training, before they fly to Tokyo for the Olympics.
As part of the plan, the NRAI has also arranged for a chartered flight to carry the team, along with the coaches and support staff, to circumvent the problem of commercial flights not being allowed to carry Indian passengers owing to travel restrictions proposed by a few countries.