New Delhi, India, March 25, 2020: All sports training camps and centres in India will remain closed during the 21-day lockdown, confirmed Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday, March 25.
Rijiju took to Twitter to post: “My dear Athletes, as per the directions of the Government, all sports training camps and centres will remain closed during the 21-day lockdown. Please maintain your physical and mental fitness at the place wherever you are staying without going out.”
On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the nationwide total lockdown would be in place for three weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. India’s 1.3 billion people went into lockdown at midnight on Tuesday, March 24.
Prime Minister Modi said: “If we are not able to manage the upcoming 21 days we will be pushed back 21 years.”
Meanwhile in a tweet, Rajeev Mehta, Indian Olympic Association Secretary General, welcomed the decision by the International Olympic Committee to push back the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by a year.
Mehta said: “This decision relieves our athletes of worries of having to train now during epidemic.”