Dog bites mar World Para Athletics Championships

A security guard, Kenyan sprint coach Dennis Maragia, and Japanese coach Meiko Okumatsu were bitten by stray dogs at the warm-up area of JLN Stadium

New Delhi: The dog menace in the national capital marked its presence at the ongoing World Para Athletics Championships on Friday with three separate incidents being reported from the warm-up area -- barely 50 metres from the competition area -- at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Dog-catching vans in place at the JLN stadium. (HT)

The victims include a security guard, Kenyan sprint coach Dennis Maragia, and Japanese coach Meiko Okumatsu. All three were taken to Safdarjung hospital and were discharged after being administered anti-rabies injections. Two dog catching vehicles were rushed to the spot and about 10-12 strays were caught and sent to an NGO in Lajpat Nagar.

It is learned that the dog catching exercise was on when a stray turned aggressive and bit the Kenyan.

“He was with our 200m sprinter Stacey Obonyo in the morning session and that is when a stray dog bit him in the right calf while he was fixing her starting blocks,” Michael Okaro, the Kenyan team doctor, said.

The JLN Stadium comes under SAI’s purview but civic body MCD is responsible to clear the premises of strays. A dog-catching exercise was initiated by SAI 15 days before the championships began, and at least one dog-catching vehicle is present in the stadium at all times during the Worlds.