CHENNAI: With northern India beginning to reel under cold, Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) has decided to shift national camp from NIS Patiala to Mumbai. Star lifter Mirabai Chanu (49kg) and Sathish Sivalingam (77kg), who are in the USA on a rehabilitation- cum-training programme, will return to the country on December 17 and join the camp at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Spor t s Ground with other weightlifters presently training in Patiala. The duration of the camp will be two months.
“Head coach Vijay Sharma requested the federation to shift the camp due to the prevalent cold weather in Patiala. His request has been accepted,” Sahdev Yadav, IWLF secretarygeneral, confirmed to this daily. “Mira has sorted out the biomechanical issues she was facing. Sathish, too, had some issues including back and knee. They are fine now and will return on December 17.
We are expecting the camp to begin on December 20,” he said. World champion in 2017, Mirabai flew for the US with Sharma and physiotherapist Akrant Saxena on October 14. Tamil Nadu’s Sathish joined them in the first week of November. The duo underwent a rehabilitation programme under the guidance of a doctor based in St Louis. While Mira’s trip was funded by sports ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell, Tamil Nadu government has sponsored Sathish on this trip.
It is learnt that the coach has suggested two options to shift the camp — Mumbai and Chennai — and the federation decided to go with the former. Mumbai is among the worst-affected cities due to Covid- 19 in the country, but has been reporting less than 1000 cases for the last six days. Besides, the Maharashtra government has not allowed outdoor sporting activities in the state yet.
“The venue in Mumbai is good for training for our lifters as it has all necessary facilities. Obviously, those in the camp will not be allowed to move out of the venue. They have to follow SAI’s standard operating procedures as well as guidelines issued by the state government. We are hopeful, the camp will be organised successfully,” said Yadav. Six weightlifters — four women and two men — are training at Patiala.