Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in South Africa called off after Omicron scare

Omicron, the latest variant of the Corona Virus, has started disturbing the sporting events around the globe and its latest victim is the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship. The tournament was all set to begin on the 3rd of December in Pretoria, South Africa. However, it has now been postponed indefinitely due to the outbreak in the country.

Earlier, the Women’s FIH Hockey Junior World Cup, which was due to take place in Potchefstroom, was also postponed. Along with that, India’s Olympic Gold Medalist Neeraj Chopra’s visit to the African nation was canceled due to the strict traveling and quarantine rules implied to contain the outbreak. Chopra was supposed to train there until March next year. Now the Athletes Federation of India is planning to send him to the USA.

The Indian wrestlers who were going to participate in the tournament have faced a huge setback. According to a report by TOI, a 60-member strong contingent was supposed to take off from IGI on Tuesday night to reach Pretoria. But the suspension of their connecting flight from Doha has now left them stranded. The Wrestling Federation of India was trying to look for another route to make their players reach South Africa when the news of cancelation was announced.

India had a great outing last time in this tournament that was held in Johannesburg. They won a total of 25 medals in the freestyle and Greco-roman weight categories.