Organisers of the All India Invitation Kabaddi Tournament are leaving no stone unturned to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus in the temple city.
The national event is slated to be held from January 5 to 9, for which players from across the country have started pouring into the city from Monday. Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) and Tirupati Smart City Corporation Limited (TSCCL), which are jointly organising the event, have put in place strict protocols to conduct ‘on arrival’ COVID-19 RT-PCR testing for all the players and accommodate them only after they test negative. Similarly, the double vaccination certificate has been secured at the screening level from every participant.
A total of 43 teams from 22 States are participating in the five-day sporting event, said to be the first-ever to be conducted by a civic body. “We have readied accommodation for the contingent of nearly 1,000 visitors, including over 700 players, team managers, coaches, physiotherapists and so on. Any player testing positive will be immediately quarantined and will be taken care of till recovery,” MCT Commissioner P.S. Girisha, who is also the organising secretary for the prestigious event, said.
A total of 140 rooms in the TTD’s Srinivasam and Madhavam pilgrims’ complexes located in the heart of the city have been booked for the event. Two special medical teams will be kep ready at Srinivasam as well as at Indira Maidanam, the sports venue, to constantly monitor the health status of the players.
