International exposure given by the government to key Indian athletes like Mirabai Chanu and Bajrang Punia ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, and wholesome praise for the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for sponsoring both the Men’s and Women’s Hockey team since 2018 has found a prominent mention in a parliamentary standing committee report on the country’s preparation of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“The Committee in its collective wisdom has appreciated the initiative and efforts taken by Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha in setting up High Performance Sports centres and sponsoring both men’s and women’s Hockey team through Hockey India since 2018, which has translated into better performances by both these teams at Tokyo Olympics 2020,” the committee has said in its report on ‘Preparation For Olympics Games, 2021’ tabled in the Parliament on Friday. The Men’s Team won a bronze ending a 41-year-long medal drought for the country while the women’s team narrowly lost in a bronze-medal match to Great Britain.
The parliamentary committee, which is headed by BJP MP Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe, has also noted a government response on how notable international exposures were arranged for Indian athletes before the Tokyo Olympics. “Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu was sent for a strength training and rehabilitation camp in USA in December 2020. Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia was sent to USA for training and competition…Vinesh Phogat trained in Bulgaria. Indian badminton players were sent to competitions in Denmark in October, 2020 and to Thailand for key competitions. Indian swimmers were sent to a foreign training camp in Dubai. 15 Indian boxers were sent to Italy for foreign training,” the committee report has recorded as the government’s response on this issue.
While Mirabai Chanu has won a silver in weightlifting at Tokyo Olympics, Punia has entered the semifinals of Wrestling while badminton player P.V. Sindhu has won a bronze medal. The parliamentary committee had earlier raised a concern with the government that due to lockdown and travel restrictions, there was loss of international competition exposure which has hugely affected the training of the athletes. “International competitions should be accorded priority as they prepare athletes for pressure situations they may find themselves in during actual Olympics,” the committee had recommended. “The Indian Wrestling team participated in the UWW World Cup held in December, 2020 in Serbia. The Indian Judo team participated in the Grand Slam 2020 held between 23rd-26th October, 2020 in Budapest, Hungary,” the government said in its reply to the committee.
The Committee in its report has recommended the Odisha model to be replicated across the country with a view to continue this momentum in sports performance. “Apart from getting corporate sponsorship, every State should be encouraged to focus on one sport specific to that region besides taking up other sports in general and create and develop High Performance Sports Centres on the line of Odisha model. They should also identify and promote the raw talent from a tender age and provide them with the much needed support of international standards in terms of equipment, sports kit, coaching (team and individual), exposure and mental conditioning in order to nurture them for participation and podium finish at the international level,” the committee report has said.
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