COVID-19 has hit Team India as hockey team Navjot Kaur is set to fly back home after testing positive for the virus.
The 27-year-old's campaign at the Commonwealth Games came to an abrupt end as she is now replaced by Sonika in the 18-member Indian women's squad.
Earlier, Kaur was kept in isolation after her COVID-19 test returned inconclusive, causing a scare in the women's team camp.
India opened their victorious campaign with a 5-0 win over Ghana on Friday. India is standing in the ninth position after this marvelous win.
"She has been kept in isolation. Her CT value is not infectious. She tested positive in the first test but in the second test her CT value improved and she can't infect others. She remains in isolation and there is a possibility that she might go back to India," a source said.
The 27-year-old from Kurukshetra was a member of the silver-winning team at the Asian Games in Jakarta and a bronze winner from Incheon in 2014. Kaur belonged to the team that performed well at the Hockey World League Semifinals in 2015, which enabled India to enter Olympics. She also participated in the 17th Asian Games, 2016 Rio Olympics, and the 4th Women's Asian Champions Trophy. She played a key role in India's campaign at the Women's Hockey World League Round 2 in Canada.
The 300-plus Indian contingent has been largely free from COVID so far in the Birmingham Games. According to the guidelines, all athletes and officials were required to take a polymerase chain reaction test before traveling to Birmingham and then another upon arrival at the Games.
Earlier, two women cricket team members, Pooja Vastrakar and S Meghana tested positive in India but they have recovered now. Meghana has already joined the team and Pooja is likely to join before the third game against Barbados on August 3.
The organizers had said that the Games Village was reporting a dozen cases per day.
The Birmingham Games is the first multi-discipline event since the start of the pandemic to be held without any major COVID-19 restrictions.
However, The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has advised the country's contingent to curtail their public appearances and stay indoors given the ongoing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Inputs from PTI)
