
CHENNAI: The Swimming Federation of India had some harrowing experience before putting out a tweet on Monday. Their technical team had to wait before accessing the swimming venue for quite a long time, the players have been given accommodation some 40km away from the Haldwani where the event is taking place and other logistical issues were some of the grievances of SFI.
"Are the National Games supposed to be a pinnacle of Indian sports performance or a circus to serve political agendas subservient to athletes well-being. Do clarify @IndiaSports @mansukhmandviya @PMOIndia," the SFI tweeted.
Monal Chokshi, the SFI secretary-general, who is on his way to Uttarakhand, told this newspaper that they were forced to escalate because with just two days things seemed in disarray. "Accommodation for players is a problem because they will have to travel for one and a half to two hours each way and swimming is a physically demanding sport. They need rest," he said. But for him the main worry was the triathlon event that was advanced to January 27 from a later date in February causing roadblocks. Swimming events begin from January 29 and players need to warmup at the venue before that.
Chokshi said that because of that the players and officials are not getting access to the venue. "They have blocked the road and the pool was inaccessible. But now they have said they will make a dedicated lane for the swimming teams," he said. The players need to warm-up before their events and they need access to the pool. Because it's cold the pool is thermal controlled. The players and officials are being put up at Corbett and near Nainital. "What happens if the road is blocked for some reason?" asked Choksi. Hopefully, things will be better in the coming days, he said.