26 athletes test positive for COVID-19 at NIS Patiala, but none Tokyo-bound: report

A source at the Sports Authority of India said on Wednesday that after testing around 380 campers for the dreaded infection at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, the support staff of six players and subjects were found to be COVID-19 positive. However, the athletes of any Tokyo Olympics are not included in the 26 positive results. India’s male boxing head coach CA Kuttappa and Shot Put coach Mohinder Singh Dhillon are among those who have recently tested positive for the virus in the drive, an SAI source has confirmed. The SAI source told PTI, “About 380 athletes at NIS Patiala were recently tested for COVID. The tests were conducted across the board and were not random.”

It is learned that 10 out of 26 positive cases are from track and field group training at the institute.

“Out of 380, 26 athletes have tested positive for the virus but the good thing is that they are not Olympic-bound athletes. Positive athletes have been isolated and the entire campus cleaned.”

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However, all weightlifters housed at the Premier Sports Institute have returned negatively for the virus. NIS Patiala is primarily a base for Olympic-bound boxers, track and field athletes and lifters as well as players from some other disciplines.

The boxers who have tested positive include Asian silver medalist Deepak Kumar and India Open gold medalist Sanjeet. Another source said, “Some more test results are awaited at this point. There are seven boxing cases yet.”