NEW DELHI: Indian Weightlifting Federation has warned that the country might end up with very few medals in the 2010 Commonwealth Games as the lifters are training without basic equipment, food supplements and enough coaches due to Sports Ministry's apathy.
IWF General Secretary Baldev Raj Gulati said the lifters have been facing problems galore at the two training centres - Bangalore SAI Centre and Army Sports Institute Pune -- as they lack even the bare necessities for training.
The core group athletes were selected for intensive training of at least 20 months to get maximum medals in the Games to be hosted by the national capital.
Weightlifters had accounted for a major chunk of medals in the last two Commonwealth Games (27 out of 69 in Manchester and nine out of 50 in Melbourne).
"Weightlifting accounts for a major share of medals in the Commonwealth Games but SAI and Sports Ministry have not provided enough basic equipments or food supplements. We are also finding it difficult to get the recommended number of coaches because they are not being given lucrative money for the one and half years of assignment," Gulati said.
Gulati was at loss of words to explain why the Ministry did not provide even enough barbells, a basic necessity for training.
He said the IWF had to borrow them from the state associations and the two training centres leading to "irrational" training schedules, which increase the risk of injury to the lifters.
"We don't even have the required number of barbells. We have to borrow them from the state associations or use them from the ASI. Normally, the lifters train in two sessions everyday. in morning and evening.
"Now, they have to train in five shifts in batches due to lack of barbells. They have to train at a time they should be resting because we cannot disturb the training schedule of the ASI athletes," he said.
"So the training schedule has become totally irrational besides this increasing the risk of injury to the lifters. This could seriously impact on the performance of the lifters in the Games. This is true for other sports also but the officials do not want to speak out," he added.
Another cause of concern, Gulati said, was that the lifters have been training without food supplements for the last four months.
"The SAI is struggling in chalking out the modalities and the type of food supplements for the lifters. They are yet to form a committee to do that.
"These supplements have been made mandatory by the Sports Ministry's own steering Committee. The lifters have been training for the last four months
at tremendous risk. The Ministry's own medical team has warned of a possibility of injuries due to lack of required supplements," Gulati said.
"We have been sending reminders but SAI has been taking its own time," he added.
Moreover, the technical equipment required for performance analysis, which has been sanctioned by the ministry, has not been procured till now despite a new coach, Hungarian Imre Zsuga, taking charge.
Another grievance of the federation was the government's reluctance to bear the cost of a touring manager in foreign competitions despite clear guidelines of Sports Ministry.
"The Ministry uses dubious tactics to ensure that it does not bear the cost of a manager on foreign competitions despite a clear guideline approved by its own steering committee. They want the coach to do the job of manager which is simply not possible," Gulati said.
"The Ministry clears the manager at no cost to government four or five days before the departure of the team which leaves very little time for the federation to protest and approach them. Many a times, a manager had to go on his/her own expense," Gulati said.
"Moreover, the usual practice of the Ministry taking a long time to reimburse the federation of the expenses incurred in foreign competitions has left federations like IWF to pay interests for long time on money borrowed from external sources," Gulati said.
He said the Ministry is yet to reimburse around Rs 13 lakh spent by IWF in the Asian Senior Championships in Kazakhstan (May 9-16) and Rs 9 lakh for the Youth World Championships in Thailand (May 19-24).
"The ministry gives clearance for visa four or five days before departure of the team but not the financial clearance which means the federation has to borrow from external sources at market rates of interests and while reimbursing the government takes its own time," he claimed.
Soruce:TOI
IWF General Secretary Baldev Raj Gulati said the lifters have been facing problems galore at the two training centres - Bangalore SAI Centre and Army Sports Institute Pune -- as they lack even the bare necessities for training.
The core group athletes were selected for intensive training of at least 20 months to get maximum medals in the Games to be hosted by the national capital.
Weightlifters had accounted for a major chunk of medals in the last two Commonwealth Games (27 out of 69 in Manchester and nine out of 50 in Melbourne).
"Weightlifting accounts for a major share of medals in the Commonwealth Games but SAI and Sports Ministry have not provided enough basic equipments or food supplements. We are also finding it difficult to get the recommended number of coaches because they are not being given lucrative money for the one and half years of assignment," Gulati said.
Gulati was at loss of words to explain why the Ministry did not provide even enough barbells, a basic necessity for training.
He said the IWF had to borrow them from the state associations and the two training centres leading to "irrational" training schedules, which increase the risk of injury to the lifters.
"We don't even have the required number of barbells. We have to borrow them from the state associations or use them from the ASI. Normally, the lifters train in two sessions everyday. in morning and evening.
"Now, they have to train in five shifts in batches due to lack of barbells. They have to train at a time they should be resting because we cannot disturb the training schedule of the ASI athletes," he said.
"So the training schedule has become totally irrational besides this increasing the risk of injury to the lifters. This could seriously impact on the performance of the lifters in the Games. This is true for other sports also but the officials do not want to speak out," he added.
Another cause of concern, Gulati said, was that the lifters have been training without food supplements for the last four months.
"The SAI is struggling in chalking out the modalities and the type of food supplements for the lifters. They are yet to form a committee to do that.
"These supplements have been made mandatory by the Sports Ministry's own steering Committee. The lifters have been training for the last four months
at tremendous risk. The Ministry's own medical team has warned of a possibility of injuries due to lack of required supplements," Gulati said.
"We have been sending reminders but SAI has been taking its own time," he added.
Moreover, the technical equipment required for performance analysis, which has been sanctioned by the ministry, has not been procured till now despite a new coach, Hungarian Imre Zsuga, taking charge.
Another grievance of the federation was the government's reluctance to bear the cost of a touring manager in foreign competitions despite clear guidelines of Sports Ministry.
"The Ministry uses dubious tactics to ensure that it does not bear the cost of a manager on foreign competitions despite a clear guideline approved by its own steering committee. They want the coach to do the job of manager which is simply not possible," Gulati said.
"The Ministry clears the manager at no cost to government four or five days before the departure of the team which leaves very little time for the federation to protest and approach them. Many a times, a manager had to go on his/her own expense," Gulati said.
"Moreover, the usual practice of the Ministry taking a long time to reimburse the federation of the expenses incurred in foreign competitions has left federations like IWF to pay interests for long time on money borrowed from external sources," Gulati said.
He said the Ministry is yet to reimburse around Rs 13 lakh spent by IWF in the Asian Senior Championships in Kazakhstan (May 9-16) and Rs 9 lakh for the Youth World Championships in Thailand (May 19-24).
"The ministry gives clearance for visa four or five days before departure of the team but not the financial clearance which means the federation has to borrow from external sources at market rates of interests and while reimbursing the government takes its own time," he claimed.
Soruce:TOI
