New Delhi, May 11 (IANS): Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju will interact with elite weightlifters housed in Sports Authority of India (SAI)'s National Center of Excellence in Patiala to discuss and seek suggestions of ways to restart training with health as priority on Monday, his office said in a statement.

"The Sports Ministry has decided to resume training of athletes in a phased manner. Kiren Rijiju will interact with elite weightlifters housed in SAI's National Center of Excellence in Patiala to discuss and seek suggestions of ways to restart training with health as priority," the statement, tweeted from Kiren Rijiju Office handle read.

The interaction with elite weightlifters via video conferencing will take place on Monday followed by interactions in the discipline of athletics on Tuesday and hockey men's and women's teams on Thursday.

Rijiju had said earlier planning will have to be done to ensure that sports remain sustainable without fans in the stadium in the near future.

The coronavirus pandemic has put a freeze on the global sporting calendar with even the Tokyo Olympics being postponed to next year.

The ministry had banned spectators in stadiums for any events, including cricket matches, in one of its earliest advisories on the pandemic before all sporting events were brought to a halt altogether.

Rijiju said that the ministry will be looking to help those sports that don't get significant television coverage.

Rijiju had previously maintained that the ministry is planning a phase-wise re-opening of training camps for the athletes.