What happens if an athlete at the Tokyo Olympics tests Covid-19 positive?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) released the Sport-Specific Regulations (SSR) at the beginning of this week in cooperation with international sports federations, specifying what is happening when an athlete tests positively on Covid-19 once the Games commence on 23 July.
However, the SSR does not answer several questions. Will a hockey team, for example, receive a silver medal if they are forced to withdraw on the last day?
What about one-day events and multi-day events?
Each athlete or team that is forced to withdraw by positive tests of the new coronavirus will often not be deemed 'disqualified,' but rather 'did not start' (DNS). Athletes are tested every day. So all athletes need a negative test from that morning for single-day competitions such as screening, marathons and weightlifting.
However, a player or team may be changed in most sports where tournaments go for several days. If a team tests positively for hockey, rugby seven and handball after the first round of knock-out matches, it is withdrawn and the beating team takes its place in the second round. When a sportsman is finished yet tests positively for Covid-19 in individual events, for instance on track or on the field, he will be replaced by the next most high-ranked athlete. For example, if the individual who finishes ninth in the semifinal takes the place of one of the eight sprinters at the 100 metres final test on racing day. Some activities, including tennis, badminton and boxing, occur where the opponent is "withdrawn" when a player tests positively, and there is no substitution. In the last scenario, a silver medal will be handed to the player testing positive and the opponent will be granted gold.
What about close contacts?
In comparison to another contact sport like boxing, wrestling has distinct rules. If a sportsman is successful before, for example, a wresting event's gold medal match, that sportsman is pulled out and he or she is beaten in the semifinal. Despite fighting with the positive player just one day before, the replacement player is no longer seen as a 'closer contact.' All the substitute players need to be tested in negative on the final day.
Are there distinct regulations in different disciplines?
In Handball SSR, it was said that "if a team qualifying for the final is unable to participate, it would be elevated to the final to play for the medal that was eliminated by the Covid-19 affected team." This is not the case for the bronze medal match. "
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The SSR hockey is comparable but doesn't indicate whether a medal is won by a team that couldn't compete in the final. Even in wrestling, the SSR says that a player who tests positively will be removed before the final, but it does not indicate whether the player receives a medal even after they reach the final.
In football, the SSR is ambiguous because it just states that "FIFA shall decide the issue and act at its own discretion."
How are the Indians' medal prospects in events?
A positive test on the day of the finish would replace the athlete with the top participant from the previous round on the track, where the javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is a Medal Hope. Qualifying rounds or heats and finals will be contested on track and field on separate days.
A team/individual positive is replaced by the opponent they beat in the last round in sports like table tennis, archery or hockey.
Weightlifting is a day-long event, where Mirabai Chanu is a favourite. Therefore, she has to guarantee she is not tested positive on her event day.
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When Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat want to compete, one athlete gets 'admission' on the day of a fight when one opponent tests positive. If, however, after the final grappler tests positively, then he or she is replaced by the person in the semi-final who is beaten.
While there's no substitute for boxing, badminton and shooting. However, if a player tests positively in the lead-up to a mixed shooting event, any other shooter from the country who is present in the Games in the same discipline might replace him/her.
Do sportsmen have to do their own tests?
A designated 'Covid Liaison Officer' (CLO) is assigned to each contingent to guarantee that samples are collected and sent on time from all individuals in that nation. Prem Chand Verma, a prominent bureaucrat, is the CLO for the Indian team.
