Not an ideal build-up to the Asian Games
Indian sports has waded into choppy waters of late. With just over two months left for the Asian Games, this doesn’t augur well. Some of the priority sports that have fetched medals at the Asian and Olympic Games are not in the pink of health. When sports administrators, including the Sports Authority of India and National Sports Federations (NSFs), should be planning for the Asian Games, they are busy sorting out issues ranging from lack of coaches to training schedules and selections. Add to this the recent doping cases in judo and athletics, and things can’t seem to get any worse.
The Boxing Federation of India, considered one of the better-run federations until a couple of years ago, is struggling with its planning. There are frequent changes of coaches and support staff. Recently, the women’s coach who helped the team win four gold at the world championships stepped aside. Though he officially said that he could not balance his SAI responsibilities and coaching, the national coach apparently was not happy with certain policies of the HPD (high-performance director). And the men’s coach was replaced just a few months ago.
Badminton also sings from the same hymn sheet. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) is struggling to find good foreign coaches. Multiple Olympic and world championships medallist P V Sindhu is without a foreign coach after parting ways with Park Tae-Sang. There is no men’s singles foreign coach. The BAI admitted it’s tough to find good coaches, with most already employed abroad because of next year’s Olympics. But badminton in the Asian Games is considered more challenging than the Olympics. Even shooting, which usually fetches a few medals at the Asian Games, is going through a crisis, just when shooters are showing some spark. Recently, chief national rifle coach Joydeep Karmakar quit and was vocal about the “toxic environment” in the team. Until recently, the National Rifle Association of India was considered a well-run unit, but it is without an elected president after Raninder Singh completed his tenure.
Add to this mix wrestling—one sport that has won India multiple medals at the Olympics and Asian Games—and the situation becomes even more problematic. Even NSFs of judo and volleyball run by ad-hoc panels and administrators seem clueless. If SAI and the NSFs don’t come together to find a solution, bettering the last edition’s tally will remain a pipe dream.