You would have expected the Swimming Federation of India to have everything in place when the country’s competitive swimmers resume the sport. It would only be fair to believe that it would have a great plan ready when Government gave the green signal for the reopening of swimming pools for competitive swimmers.
There is only big disappointment if the comments from the SFI corridors, largely orchestrated by coaches with commercial interests, are any indication. With SFI President RN Jayaprakash maintaining stony silence, its Secretary-General Monal Chokshi reacted to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ decision to allow swimming pools to reopen on October 15.
It is only fair that we revisit what he said before explaining the reason for disappointment. In an interview with national news agency PTI, the SFI Secretary-General said the immediate priority will be the Olympic hopefuls.
“They are coming back (from Dubai) only on the 19th. We will evolve a plan soon. We will get in touch with SAI and TOPS division as to whether we get them into a camp at a specific facility or they resume training in their respective centres,” Monal Chokshi was quoted as saying.
“The (other) swimmers have been away from the (pool) waters for six months now. Their individual coaches need to take them back into the waters and get them into some reasonable shape before they start camp. We have a list of 18-20 people who will be part of the camp and competitions. They (will) have to be back in the pool for 30-40 days before we get them into camp. By the end of the month we will have a semblance of a plan,” he said.
Let us now see why this sparks disillusionment rather than great hope.
First, it is stunning that SFI is not looking beyond 18 to 20 swimmers for a camp. Most National Sports Federations – notably Athletics Federation of India, Badminton Association of India, Boxing Federation of India, Wrestling Federation of India and National Rifle Association of India – look at larger numbers and at multiple locations.
Though SFI has not identified these 18 to 20 swimmers in public yet, we must believe that it would invite each of the 14 swimmers who are part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme as development athletes. Beyond these 14, there could be the likes of Virdhawal Khade, Sajan Prakash, SP Likhith, Dhanush Suresh and Maana Patel in the SFI’s shortlist.
What about the 130 swimmers who are Khelo India scholars? Does SFI not think of them? At a time when the Ministry of Home Affairs has permitted swimming pools for competitive swimmers to reopen, SFI should be engaging with this pool of talent and have plans ready for this lot.
It should have been the easiest thing for the Swimming Federation of India to divide the top 200 swimmers in the country into five or six groups and locate them in different cities like New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Indore, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar and Guwahati. It is utterly disappointing that SFI mandarins do not want to look at the larger constituency of swimmers.
Having disappointed the swimming community by speaking about a camp for only 18 to 20 swimmers, SFI makes it worse by conveying the impression that it does not have plans for the three swimmers returning to India after a two-month sojourn in Dubai. It is not amusing to hear that SFI would have a ‘semblance of a plan’ by the end of the month.
Having got three swimmers into a pool, there should have been a schedule in place for them post the two-month camp. And another for others who are presumed to have not been swimming (even in swimming pools in schools or in farmhouses). It is downright disappointing to hear that a semblance of a plan for the 18 to 20 elite swimmers would be ready in a month.
Would it have been too much work for the Swimming Federation of India and its State Associations, some of were seen aggressively pro-active immediately after Nation-wide lockdown was lifted, to ensure that at least one pool in each major city was identified and given a Standard Operating Procedure to be ready when Government allowed reopening of pools?
And would it have been unfair to expect the Federation to have a plan for coaches on workload management for swimmers? It is not surprising that the Target Olympic Podium Scheme’s top guns have asked the coaches in Dubai to be mindful of the fact that some of these athletes have not been swimming for months, contending themselves with dryland workouts.
The Swimming Federation of India must be concerned that when more swimmers regain their familiarity with pool waters there is a great likelihood of injuries. At the moment, it has allowed individual coaches to hold charge of intricate areas like sports physiology, biomechanics and psychology – and risk the swimmers being injured because of over-training.
Then again, all this is the result of a Federation investing its faith in a few coaches, including the Chief Coach who is based overseas, rather than in a High-Performance Director who could ensure that athletes’ safety is always in the forefront of any plan. With Sports Authority of India investing a lot in nearly 150 swimmers, will it ensure that their interest is not overlooked?
The long break, imposed on mankind by the Covid-19 pandemic, should have given National Sports Federations enough and more time to introspect and innovate rather than be stuck in a time warp. It would appear that the Swimming Federation of India and its state associations have missed the bus.
Editor’s Note: Disabling comments for this piece after some users preferred to ignore the larger issues raised in the article.
