The Olympic core group of 34 Indian shooters will return to camp training from August 1, the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) announced on Thursday, making attendance compulsory as it aims for a “cautious and phased recommencement of activities from next month”.
In a detailed statement, the NRAI said the decision to restart training was taken at a meeting of its Governing Body, after carefully weighing the COVID-19 threat. The camp will be organised at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR) in the national capital, which has recorded over 1 lakh positive cases.
The NRAI has appointed High Performance Manager and former India shooter Ronak Pandit as the Nodal Officer in charge of overall co-ordination for hygiene and medical protocols of the camp.
“Attendance shall be compulsory for this camp as the unprecedented circumstances found globally with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic dictates, that NRAI’s options at being accommodating are virtually zero,” the body said in a statement.
“Therefore, currently the option of choice and personal interests, must necessarily, be put on the back-burner by all in the national interest, it was decided,” it added. The Karni Singh range was reopened for use on July 8. The shooters have been training at their respective bases ever since the pandemic forced a closure of facilities.