Tokyo: India's 15-member shooting contingent on Saturday checked into the Games Village with the support staff ahead of the Olympics beginning July 23. The Indian team was based in Croatia in early May for training and competition and flew into Tokyo from Zagreb.
Indian Olympic Association chief Narinder Batra confirmed shooters' arrival in Tokyo. The majority of the athletes will leave for Tokyo from the national capital on a chartered flight on Saturday night.
The shooting contingent, including some of the country’s biggest medal prospects at the Tokyo Games, had left for Zagreb on a charter flight on May 11 for their final stretch of preparations for the Olympics.
The team, however, could not set the stage ablaze in the recently-concluded ISSF World Cup in Osijek, Croatia, where it won one gold, a silver and two bronze medals for 10th place finish, not a great result considering the shooters' excellent run in recent times.
Quarantine not required
Not required to undergo any quarantine ahead of the Olympics, the Indian shooters will begin training at the venue from July 19, having got their rooms allotted at the games village after arriving in Tokyo in the wee hours of Saturday.
The shooting events will be held at the Asaka Shooting Range, which is located in Saitama Prefecture, north west Tokyo. The venue also hosted the shooting competition at the 1964 Olympics.
"They have settled down at the village, rooms are being allotted at the Games Village and they will begin training from 19th July. There is no quarantine or any isolation required as they have arrived from Croatia," National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) secretary Rajiv Bhatia said.
All members of the contingent returned negative for COVID-19 after they were tested at the airport.
The federation office-bearer said the formalities on arrival at the Narita international airport were carried out smoothly and the contingent did not face any issues.
