Swimmers Suffer Due To SFI Apathy

Elite athletes who have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics or are still in with a chance are fortunate they have been able to resume training in national camps.

- S. Kannan

From hockey players in SAI Kengeri, Bengaluru, to track and field stars in Patiala, life is slowly returning to normalcy.

The guidelines for the athletes and SOPs (standard operating procedure) from the Sports Authority of India, with another set of guidelines from the home ministry, makes it very strict. It may even appear as if these are guidelines which are usually prescribed for people serving in the Defence Forces.

From a position of zero training to resumption of some sporting activity has been very refreshing for the elite athletes. They know, getting rid of the rust is going to take time and, as such, there is no hurry.

For some strange reason, the elite athletes have been asked not to speak to the media. This time, they are not complaining about it as to stay in the safe environs of SAI campuses is a big bonus. To be sure, these athletes live in such sanitised conditions, they have not been exposed to the outside world.

Safety of the athletes is paramount, and that is the message repeatedly coming from the federations like Hockey India, the Athletics Federation of India and the government. There are many other sporting disciplines as well where India have qualified for the Olympics. However, the concept of a national camp seems alien.

In the last one month, Indian swimmers have been complaining about not being able to use the pool. First, the Swimming Federation of India made a hash of the SOPs and now they are worried at no activity taking place.