An Indian shooter on Sunday tested negative for COVID-19 a day after returning positive for the highly contagious virus, National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) sources said after the conclusion of third day’s action in the ISSF World Cup. After being released as a precautionary measure, the shooter is likely to be back in the team. “One of the Indian shooters tested negative today. The shooter was found to be positive when the test was conducted yesterday,” an NRAI source told PTI. 

On Saturday night, two more Indian shooters had tested positive for COVID-19, taking the number of athletes contracting the virus to six during the tournament in the national capital. 

As per the guidelines, the shooters returning positive had been sent into isolation. The two shooters, whose test reports came late on Saturday night, were in addition to the two more Indian athletes who had returned positive for the virus at the start of the second competition day of the tournament. 

“Two more Indian shooters have tested positive for the virus and it was known after their reports were received at night,” a National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) source said. 

On Saturday morning three shooters, including two from the Indian pistol men’s team, had tested positive for the virus. 

The shooters were self-isolating in their team hotel before being shifted to a hospital. Those who were sharing the rooms with the three shooters as well as their other teammates have also been isolated after undergoing COVID tests. 

Countries have been allowed to field their MQS (Minimum Qualification Score) shooters in place of the ones ruled out from the main teams owing to contracting the virus. 

On Thursday, in the first such case here, a top international shooter returned positive for COVID-19, following which he was sent to a hospital. 

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A total of 294 shooters from as many as 53 countries, including Korea, Singapore, USA, United Kingdom, Iran, Ukraine, France, Hungary, Italy, Thailand and Turkey, are participating in the tournament. 

As per the ISSF guidelines, no spectator is allowed inside the range during the course of the tournament, which carries ranking points.