- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
THE diplomatic row between India and the UK over the Covid-19 quarantine rules has now affected the sporting arena as the Asian nation on Tuesday (5) pulled its men’s and women’s hockey teams from the Commonwealth Games (CWG) to be held in Birmingham next year.
Hockey India announced the decision as a reciprocal action after England Hockey said it was withdrawing from the men’s Junior World Cup which begins in Bhubaneswar in the eastern Indian state of Odisha in November.
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“England have issued guidelines that 10 days quarantine is required [for] Indian arrivals in England even for those who are fully vaccinated,” Hockey India said in a statement.
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“We feel these restrictions are biased against India and term it as very unfortunate.” It added.
On Monday (4), England Hockey announced its decision to “unfortunately withdraw” from the upcoming event in India and also slammed the host nation’s 10-day quarantine rule for all UK nationals.
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Row between the two countries erupted after the UK said in its latest travel rules that travellers from a range of countries, including India, will have to self-isolate themselves on arrival on its soil even if they are fully vaccinated.
The move irked India which called it “discriminatory” and last week, it came up with a ‘tit-for-tat’ policy. Now, all British citizens arriving in India from the UK have to serve a home quarantine for 10 days.
Hockey India, while announcing its decision on Tuesday, also called England “the worst affected country in Europe” in relation to the ongoing pandemic.)
