Indian boxer Tanwar tests Covid +ve; withdrawn from Asian Championship

New Delhi: South Asian Games gold-medallist Vinod Tanwar (49kg) has been withdrawn from the Indian men's boxing team for the Asian Championships in Dubai after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Tanwar, who had travelled for a tournament in Russia's St. Petersburg last month, had gone home for a break after he came back to the country.

The 23-year-old returned positive for the virus when he was tested in isolation on his return to Patiala earlier this week, ruling him out from what would have been his maiden appearance at the continental showpiece.

"Vinod Tanwar's (49kg) name was withdrawn from the squad as he was tested positive for COVID-19," the Boxing Federation of India said in a response to a PTI query on the development.

"Tanwar was at his home and was not in contact with the rest of the team which was in a bio-bubble. Team management decided on not taking any replacement and will not be contesting in the 49kg category of 2021 ASBC Asian Championships," the BFI said.

Tanwar had won the South Asian Gamed gold in the 2019 edition of the event. Apart from that, he is also a National Championships bronze-medallist.

Most of India's nine Olympic-bound boxers, including Amit Panghal (52kg) and M C Mary Kom (51kg), will compete in the event, which begins on Monday.

The Indian boxing team, featuring the likes of M C Mary Kom (51kg) and Amit Panghal (52kg), reached Dubai to compete in the Asian Boxing Championships aboard an "air-bubble" flight, which had to stay mid-air longer than scheduled as administrative paperwork delayed its landing.

The tournament starts on Monday with the draws lined up for Sunday. It is the only major competition that the boxers will get before the July-August Olympics given the COVID-19 restrictions in place around the globe.

The team reached Dubai on Saturday after being held up for over two hours in the flight, of which close to one hour was mid air, because of a delay in the clearance of paperwork which approved the team's arrival in Dubai.

"There was some confusion regarding the approval letter for the trip which was eventually sorted thanks to the intervention of the Indian Embassy in the UAE. The flight took a while to land but the boxers have now reached their hotel," a source close to the team told PTI.

The approval was required as the UAE has imposed a ban on flights from India in view of the heavy COVID-19 caseload here. The Boxing Federation of India issued a statement, thanking the Indian ambassador to the UAE for his assistance but did not get into details of what caused the delay in the flight's landing.