Commonwealth Games 2022: Hockey India pulls out of CWG – India has pulled out of the 2022 Commonwealth Games hockey tournament citing COVID-19 restrictions and mandatory 10-day quarantine in the UK. Birmingham will host the games from July 28.
It could also be seen as retaliation from Hockey India as England pulled out of the Junior Men’s World Cup 2022 which will be held in India. Hockey India in a statement said that England are the worst Covid affected country in Europe and their priority is to win gold medal in Asian Games. It will have a qualification spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Commonwealth Games 2022: Hockey India retaliates, pulls out of CWG 2022 in Birmingham due Covid-19 protocols
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra said that the restrictions in UK against Indians are discriminatory. The situation has worsened after UK said it doesn’t recognise India’s vaccine certificates even though the COVISHIELD vaccine is derived from UK formula developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
“It is pertinent to mention that due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, England have issued guidelines that 10 days quarantine is required for Indian arrivals in England, even for those who are fully vaccinated, since unfortunately the Indian vaccinations are not yet recognised by the English government,” Batra said in a statement.
Commonwealth Games 2022: Hockey India retaliates, pulls out of CWG 2022 in Birmingham due Covid-19 protocols
Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam also called it discriminatory and said that the mandatory 10-day quarantine will affect players’ performance.
“Such discriminatory restrictions were not imposed on Indian athletes and officials during the recent Tokyo Olympic Games and this 10 days quarantine requirement for vaccinated sports persons will affect their performances. We feel these restrictions are biased against India and term it as very unfortunate,” said the letter signed by Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam.
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