New Delhi, Jun 14 (IANS): Asian Games bronze medallist Virdhawal Khade said he may have to consider retirement if swimming facilities in the country continue to remain shut. While a number of sports facilities have opened up their training facilities for top athletes, swimming pools continue to remain shut with no indication from the governing hierarchy of when they may be opened for athletes.

In a two-tweet thread, Khade asked for clarity on the situation of swimming pools. "Might have to consider retiring from swimming . No news or communication of any sorts for being able to start swimming again . Wish swimming was treated the same as other sports in India," he said in his first tweet and tagged Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and the Swimming Federation of India among others.

"Almost 3 months since the swimmers in India entered the pool . If other competitive athletes can follow social distancing while training , competitive swimmers can do the same as well. I hope other Olympic swimming prospects don't consider retiring because of this," he said in his second tweet.

Several countries including Thailand, parts of Australia and the UK have opened swimming pools, allowing athletes to return to training.

However, even as the Ministry of Home Affairs announced guidelines to ease restrictions, opening markets and shopping malls, swimming pools in India remain out of bound amidst rapidly-rising coronavirus cases.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) had formed a separate committee for drawing up the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for resumption of training in swimming facilities. While the SOPs for other athletes came shortly thereafter and are now being implemented, no SOPs for swimming were officially announced.