2022 Omicron surge: Sports tournaments face uncertainty again - Live blog, Updates

Ranji Trophy postponed indefinitely

The premier men's first-class cricket tournament, Ranji Trophy, has been indefinitely postponed. 

Badminton - All India Sub Junior & Junior Ranking Tournaments cancelled

More disappointing news is on the horizon as the Badminton All India Sub Junior & Junior Ranking Tournaments that was all set to take place from January 11th to 17th, 2022 at Panchkula stands canceled now after the spike in omicron cases.

Wrestling - Ravi Dahiya’s wrestling training camp in Russia cancelled due to COVID-19

Amid the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Ravi Dahiya's pre-season training camp in Russia stands canceled. The star grappler has been away from competition since his Tokyo triumph and was looking to get in shape for the hectic year ahead, with the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games on the radar.

Dahiya is slated to compete at the United World Wrestling (UWW) ranking series in Italy and Turkey next month and was supposed to head to Russia to train hence. His compatriot and Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia already left to train in December 2021, meanwhile.

Dahiya, the 2-time 57kg Asian champion is currently training at the Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi.

Asian Youth Athletics Championships postponed

Asian Youth Athletics Championship scheduled to be held in March at Kuwait has been postponed to after October 22.

National Chess Championship postponed

Some big news from the chess federation. The national championship, scheduled for January, has been indefinitely called off.

Covid in Bengal team

Seven members of the Bengal Ranji Trophy team have tested positive for COVID-19, throwing their preparation in disarray, days before they start their campaign in the premier domestic tournament. Placed in Group B, along with Vidarbha, Rajasthan, Kerala, Haryana and Tripura, Bengal are slated to kick off their campaign against Tripura in Bengaluru from January 13. 

 According to sources, six Bengal players -- Sudip Chatterjee, Anustup Majumdar, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Geet Puri, Pradipta Pramanik, Surajit Yadav -- and assistant coach Sourasish Lahiri were infected with the virus.

Covid strikes Ranji Trophy: Shivam Dube, video analyst test positive

Flamboyant Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube and the team's video analyst have tested positive for COVID-19. Sairaj Patil has been named as Dube's replacement in a 20-member Mumbai squad. "Yes, the two have tested positive for COVID19 and Sairaj Patil has been named as Dube's replacement," a source told PTI on Monday.

The 28-year-old Dube has played one ODI and 13 T20Is for India. He was originally named in Mumbai's squad for their matches against Maharashtra and Delhi. The squad was picked by the senior selection committee headed by former India pacer Salil Ankola. The 41-time Ranji Trophy champions are placed in Elite Group C and will play their league matches in Kolkata. The team is leaving for Kolkata on Monday.

Cricket - MCA postpones local tournaments due to rising cases

The Mumbai Cricket Association on Saturday decided to postpone its local tournaments due to the increasing COVID19 cases in the state.

"Due to increasing COVID-19 cases in Mumbai, Kanga & Tournament Committee decided to postpone all MCA Tournaments including U-25 Shalini Bhalekar and Madhav Mantri E,F & G Div matches till further notic," MCA secretary Sanjay Naik and Joint Secretary Shahalam Shaikh stated in a note, which was uploaded on association's website. According to Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) bulletin, Mumbai reported 6,347 cases on Saturday.

Wrestling - 1st Open National Ranking Tournament shifted from New Delhi to Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi has become the hotbed for the COVID-19 virus currently and this has forced the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to relocate the 1st Open National Ranking Tournament from New Delhi to Uttar Pradesh. 

The Ranking Tournament was scheduled from January 10-12 at KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium, IG Sports Complex, New Delhi but it will now be held at Nandini Nagar, Gonda (Uttar Pradesh).

"A lot of restrictions are being imposed in the national capital because of a surge in the Covid cases. We are expecting a full house as we have received record entries for the event so we shifted the venue. Since the 2021 nationals was organised in Nandini Nagar recently, the venue is ready to host the tournament," Vinod Tomar, WFI's assistant secretary, mentioned to The New Indian Express.

Weightlifting Nationals postponed to March 2022

With the rampant rise of the COVID-19 cases, the Weightlifting Nationals that was scheduled to take place from 8th January to 16th January at Bhubaneshwar has been postponed too, after a decision was taken by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF).

"We are in receipt of a letter dated 30th December from Odisha government regarding postponement of dates of IWLF Youth (Boys & Girls), Junior (Men & Women) and Senior (Men and Women) National Weightlifting Championships-2021-22 at Bhubaneswar — now to be held from 20-29 March 2022. Due to force majeure circumstances owing to the rise of Covid-19 and Omicron pandemic cases in the country, we are left with no option but to postpone the championships as per guidelines of the Odisha government," said a circular sent to all affiliated units by the IWLF.

Among the top weightlifters, Youth Olympics gold-medallist Jeremy Lalrinnunga (men’s 67kg), world clean-and-jerk champion S Bindyarani Devi (women’s 55kg) and junior world silver-medallist Achinta Sheuli (men’s 73kg) were supposed to be a part of this event, which will now be held in March.