The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Saturday formed an inquiry committee to investigate three boxers’ alleged violation of COVID-19 quarantine norms at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala.
The four-member probe panel is headed by SAI secretary Rohit Bharadwaj and includes Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) CEO Commander Rajesh Rajagopalan, former hockey coach A.K. Bansal and SAI Deputy Director (Personnel) Dandapani.
SAI was forced to form the committee after Commonwealth and Asian Games gold-winner Vikas Krishan, Neeraj Goyat and Asian Games bronze-winner Satish Kumar allegedly violated quarantine rules by mingling with fellow-athletes during their isolation period.
Vikas (69kg) and Satish (+91kg) have qualified the Tokyo Olympics.
To submit report
The inquiry committee will look into circumstances that led to the incident and submit its report at the earliest.
It has been learnt that NIS Executive Director Raj Singh Bishnoi is also under the scanner for his role in the incident.
“The committee will conduct a thorough investigation as to what led to such a violation and lay down strict guidelines to ensure such an incident is not repeated in a SAI campus again. The role of NIS Executive Director will also be probed,” a SAI source said.
