AP men not comfortable with women swimmers

In what could be termed as a “monopoly” of men when it comes to the use of swimming pools in the state, none of the pools are reported to have a woman coach as men allegedly complain discomfort to swim in their presence.

Surprisingly, the situation in no good even in the state capital with none of the seven Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)-run pools having a single woman trainer which highly discourages the women swimming enthusiasts to avail the facilities. As a result, not more than 100 women swimmers took interest and joined these pools as members. Ironically, the sorry state of affairs is prevailing in a State which has given five medal winners at the national level in aquatic events.

The controversy erupted from the old city as the GHMC-run swimming pool meant only for trained swimmers at Amberpet refused entry to two women during regular hours saying that male swimmers were feeling uneasy. However other two pools meant for trained swimmers are located in far flung Gachibowli and Secunderabad, which allow trained female swimmers.

Dr Sangeeta Seth and her daughter Aarushi Seth, describes their ordeal “For two days we completed all formalities. On the third day of our visit, we were shooed away by the security guard at the pool saying he had instructions from the coach to not allow us inside.” But the GHMC says that they can’t guarantee security for the women, if they visit in regular hours.

“Why can’t we go in regular hours? We are trained swimmers and require international standard swimming pools to compete internationally,” says Aarushi.  “Sports authorities prefer to hire a male coach who can train both. If they hire a women coach they can train only women as they also worry about the security,” adds Meenakshi who now trains few swimmers privately as the GHMC has turned down her application as a coach. However, the Swimming Federation of India feels that there is a “supply and demand gap” as very few women coaches are available for appointment of coaches.