Sikki, physio test Covid-19 positive
Gopi academy is shut for sanitisation as Coronavirus strikes Games camp
Barley a week after probables and Olympics bound shuttlers returned to courts at the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy N. Sikki Reddy and physiotherapist Kiran George have tested positive for Covid-19 at the ongoing national camp in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Sikki and Kiran, who have been attending the national camp at the academy, are both asymptomatic.
They had undergone the Sports Authority of India’s mandatory Covid-19 test for players, coaches and support staff before the start of training on August
7 at the facility.
With Sikki and Kiran being tested positive for the virus, the Gopichand Academy has been closed for sanitisation, SAI said on Thursday.
“SAI’s mandatory Covid19 test was given to all athletes, coaches, support staff and administrative staff at the badminton national camp, and two campers have tested positive for
Covid-19,” Gopi said. “All necessary precautions as per protocol are being taken so that players can come back for training safely and as soon as possible,” he added.
Both Sikki and Kiran are from Hyderabad and have been attending the camp from their homes. All primary contacts of Sikki and Kiran are undergoing the RT PCR test again.
The badminton camp was allowed by SAI for eight Olympic hopefuls, including Rio Games silvermedallist and world champion P. V. Sindhu, following the approval from the Telangana government on August 1.
Sikki was seen training with three Indonesian doubles coaches — Namrih Suroto, Agus Dwi Santoso and Miftah — besides two sparring partners from that country on August 7.
She was pictured on the first day of training where all of them could be seen along with another physio Johnson Solomon and the Indonesians who also trained with world champion Sindhu and world championships bronze medallist B. Sai Praneeth.