Confined to their hostel rooms at NIS Patiala amid the Coronavirus-forced lockdown, some athletes, led by star sprinter Hima Das, have requested the sports ministry to allow them to train outdoors within the campus, which is out of bounds for outsiders right now.

Deputy chief national athletics coach Radhakrishnan Nair, who is supporting the move, told PTI that the Hima-led campers at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) are expecting a reply from the ministry in a day or two.