CHENNAI: In the national sub-junior rowing championships in Kolkata last month, Tamil Nadu secured two medals. It’s about one-third of what they had won last year.
At the junior national championship to be held later this year, Tamil Nadu will have just two entries, because the rest are not good enough. For a state to have produced acclaimed rowers including Asian Games medallists, these are worrying signs.
According to Nithya Venkatachalam, an NIS-certified coach working at Sri Ramachandra Water Sports Centre (SWSC), there has been a noticeable fall in standards in the last few years. “When a sub-junior level competition was held at SWSC last year, our rowers won six-seven medals,” she says.
A lack of interest among parents to get children into rowing, a problem of infrastructure and a dip in support from the state government are among reasons that the rowing fraternity cites for the decline. “There are very few sub-junior kids interested in rowing these days. Also, the response from the state government regarding funds and facilities has been poor,” Nithya says.
Last year, the state government had promised `7 crore for new facilities and infrastructure. Talks of having another facility in the city (other than Madras Boat Club and SWSC) have been doing the rounds for some time. Despite locations being shortlisted, little progress has been made.
“We approached the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) and the state government a lot of times regarding new facilities and other matters,” Balaji Maradapa, a member of the Tamil Nadu Amateur Rowing Association (TARA), told Express. “But response from their side has been very poor,” added Balaji, who is also the treasurer of the Rowing Federation of India.
Asked about the delay regarding this, SDAT General Manager Charles Manohar said a lot of permissions from government authorities are needed. “We have been working on it for some time now. Since certain locations planned for new facilities need clearance from the Coastal Regulatory Zone, these things will take at least two or three years,” he said.
While the lack of funding and schemes are making parents think twice before putting their children into rowing, another reason for the declining number of youngsters is the policy adopted by boat clubs in Tamil Nadu.
“Existing facilities are promoting rowing as a recreational sport. That is a major disadvantage, as most rowers in Chennai today are above a certain age. Only if we have more competitions at the junior and sub-junior level, more kids will start rowing. Only then can we spot talents and train them. It’s very sad as we had so many who won medals at international events,” said Balaji.
vimalsankar@newindianexpress.com