Rowers’ Porto trip cancelled  

CHENNAI: Olympic-bound Indian rowers Arvind Singh and Arjun Lal Jat will not travel to Portugal for an exposure trip despite the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) clearing the same last week. A mandatory 14-day quarantine rule in Portugal has resulted in the Rowing Federation of India (RFI) deciding not to send rowers. They instead will train at Pune’s Army Rowing Node till Olympics.

“The trip has been cancelled due to a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival in Portugal. It’s not practical because practice is crucial every day from now on. Quarantine is not going to help us, it’s going to put us back in fact,” Rajlaxmi Singh Deo, RFI president, said. The double sculls’ rowers are training in Pune and they are expected to be joined by others next month. “We have given rest to others till June 20. Once they join, they all will prepare for World meet later this year.”