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Vinayak Padmadeo
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 19
How many times have we heard Indian athletes complaining about food, not getting the desired support staff or failing to acclimatise for multi-sports discipline events? Countless times, of course. Well, all this may stop starting with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
For the first time ever, the Ministry of Sports and Sports Authority of India (SAI) are sending a delegation to Tokyo for a week-long tour (July 24 to August 1), to lay the groundwork for Indian athletes for the 2020 Olympics.
The team will include a representative each from non-profit organisations like the Olympic Gold Quest, JSW Sports Foundation and Go Sports Foundation. The mission will be to do a recce and they will examine, among other things, training facilities for the athletes. They will also look at establishing an Indian kitchen for the athletes during the Games.
SAI director general Neelam Kapur said that the idea is to ensure the wellbeing of the athletes at the Games. One key item on the agenda is to identify training venues where Indian athletes could go for training up to a year in advance for the Games.
“This initiative is being done two years ahead of the Games so that our athletes are best prepared,” she told The Tribune. “We will also be sending some of our teams to Tokyo next year, around the same month when the Games will be held in 2020, to help them acclimatise.” She said there’s a case for booking accommodation now as the tariffs are lower, rather than during the lead-up to the Games. However, all major decisions will be taken after the recce team returns and submits its report.
The recce team will also identify local Indian families who can act as volunteers or nodal persons for the Indian delegation before and during the Games.
MoUs with Univs
SAI has signed two MoUs with Nippon Sports Science University and University of Tsukuba to strengthen joint sports research programmes. Japanese ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu met Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, extending all help to India leading up to the Games.
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