CHENNAI: Paris: 48.86°N latitude; Saarbrucken: 49.23° N. They are in the same time zone, too. Paris is about an hour 48 minutes away from Saarbrucken on a high-speed train. Proximity to Paris, similar weather conditions and its setting has turned the cultural city into an ideal destination for Paris-bound athletes to train ahead of the Olympics starting from July 26.
The sprawling Sportscampus, Saar, (as it is called) is spread over nine hectares with landscaping and greenery. More than the salubrious settings, the training facilities have attracted athletes from all over the world. About 400 athletes from 27 countries and five continents are housed at the Saar campus right now. Among them are a bunch of Indians — double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra (was training until July 7), the table tennis and the boxing teams (both men and women) along with coaches and support staff.
The chief executive officer of Sportscampus, Saar, Johannes Kopkow, during a virtual interaction with this daily, outlined the nuances of his facilities and what they have managed to provide for Indians. Kopkow believes the unique positioning of the city has added to its demand. "It's just 1 hour 48 min away from Paris. It's the same time and climate zones.
Though it's quite rainy right now, which is pretty much uncommon this time, it's still the same weather as Paris. We say it's the Central European Time or the Middle Europe Climate Zone. This makes it easier for athletes coming from a long distance to acclimatise," said Kopkow.
Neeraj has been visiting there since 2022. "Let's start with with Neeraj. He always needs more than one room because he has a German coach, a physio and a manager. He has his own apartment in our house of the athletes on the campus, so that he can always step in and out as he would want."
He also narrated a funny incident involving Sindhu. "She has a tent (tent-like structure) in her room where she sleeps. That tent has low air pressure (hypoxic chamber). One day we found the bed outside her room and asked what happened and she told us that story. It was a bit funny. She brought the chamber and the bed was outside and we're thinking what happened!" And for the Indian boxers, the centre has provided a separate kitchen where they can cook Indian food and also a separate dining area.
