Top athletes allowed to take personal coaches to Rio

Sabi Hussain

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 29

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has allowed some athletes, including Dutee Chand and Seema Punia, to take their personal coaches along to the Rio Olympics.

India’s 100m sprint sensation Dutee’s coach N Ramesh, rising women’s 200m athlete Srabani Nanda’s coach Tarun Saha, reigning Commonwealth Games champion Vikas Gowda’s father-cum-coach Shive Gowda and Seema’s husband-cum-coach Ankush Punia have been given the go ahead to fly to Rio. This after the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) had initially turned down their request for personal coaches.

AFI had cited the Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) rule, which restricts the number of coaches and support staff to 40 percent of the total contingent size. A total of 36 track and field athletes have qualified for Rio. IOA cleared the names of 15 coaches and support staff as submitted by AFI.

This included the names of PT Usha, coach of women’s 800m athlete Tintu Luka, marathoner Kavita Raut’s husband-cum-coach Mahesh Kumar Tungar and AFI secretary general CK Valson among others.

But when the aggrieved athletes saw IOA flouting its own rule in the case of Hockey India (HI) and the All India Tennis Association (AITA), they approached SAI DG Injeti Srinivas.  

HI got the clearance for a 16-member support staff for the men’s and women’s teams, which is 50 percent of the contingent size. AITA got the four-member support staff cleared for a four-member squad.

The athletes demanded that funds for their coaches’ air travel and stay outside the Athletes’ Village be released from their Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) account. The SAI DG agreed and informed the IOA to include the coaches’ names in the official list. The coaches will be issued daily training venue pass for their entry into the Village and SAI will bear the entire expense of their stay.