Olympic-bound athletes to be vaccinated soon, says IOA Secretary Rajeev Mehta

Olympic-bound athletes to be vaccinated soon, says IOA Secretary Rajeev Mehta

Rajeev Mehta and Kiren Rijiju

Rajeev Mehta the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary general on Wednesday said the vaccination process for Tokyo-bound Olympics sportspersons will begin soon. As on 14 April it marked 100 days till the countdown of the Summer Olympics SAI had organised an virtual webinar in which Rajeev Mehta spoked about the safety of the Olympic-bound athletes and their vaccination ahead of the Olympic Games.

“We will start the vaccination process soon so that our athletes are safe. A lot is invested in them and we want to be sure that they are safe,” Mehta confirmed.

Rajeev Mehta wrote a letter to the Union Health Minister regarding vaccination in February

Rajeev Mehta
Rajeev Mehta

Rajeev Mehta wrote a letter to the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, requesting him to consider vaccinating the Tokyo Olympics-bound athletes on a priority basis to give them sufficient time before leaving for the Games in February itself.

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“Approximately, 158 athletes from India are expected to participate in almost 17 sports. Since there are few months left for the commencement of the Tokyo Olympic Games, two dosage of vaccination for the athletes and officials representing India is required consideration on priority,” Mehta wrote in the letter .

As recently the Covid cases have emerged in maximum numbers SAI centres across the country have also reported several positive COVID-19 cases, including Olympic-bound athletes, which forced the body to announce a three-week “summer vacation” at its National Centres of Excellence .

Last week, the Olympic-bound archers and rowers were fully vaccinated ahead of the Games at the Army Sports Institute in Pune. 

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