NEW DELHI, May 24: Track and field athletes will return to outdoor training on Monday after two months of being confined to their rooms due to the coronavirus-forced lockdown but the early focus will be entirely on their fitness regimens to avoid injury.
Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla told PTI that all the athletes based at NIS-Patiala, SAI Centre in Bengaluru and Ooty will start �outdoor fitness� training from Monday.
On May 17, the government permitted the use of stadia and sports complexes without spectators and under strict guidelines which allowed the athletes to return to outdoor training.
�Yes, the athletes in Patiala, Bengaluru and Ooty will start outdoor fitness training from Monday. It will be fitness (training) on track,� Sumariwalla said.
�They will not have specific training as they were in their rooms for eight weeks,� he added.
Asked when the athletes will start specific training, such as running on track or throwing inside the throwing area, he said, �Of course, they will do that when their specific fitness comes to a certain level.�
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who has qualified for the now postponed Tokyo Olympics, is elated that outdoor training will start from Monday.
�I am feeling happy. At least something is starting even though it will be a slow beginning,� he said from NIS-Patiala where he has been confined to his room since March 18.
While the throwers and track runners, including star sprinter Hima Das, are based at NIS-Patiala, the race walkers have been at the Sports Authority of India Centre in Bengaluru. The long distance runners are based at high altitude centre in Ooty, Tamil Nadu.
Top sprinter Dutee Chand has already started outdoor training at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar after the Odisha state government relaxed the lockdown guidelines. � PTI
