New menu for athletes: DYES

Aiming to improve the physical strength and stamina of athletes, the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) has introduced a new menu, similar to the one at National Institute of Sports, Patiala (NIS).

The menu, finalised by the DYES after several visits to different sports hostels of the country and after receiving inputs from top nutritionists, aims to cater to the specific needs of different disciplines.
Though less on quantity, the food provided will be of better quality than in the previous scheme and certain items that could affect the athletes’ preparations have been removed from the new menu, said Anupam Agarwal, director, DYES.

“The sports minister (Pramod Madhwaraj) visited NIS recently and he was extremely impressed by the type of food given to athletes. He wanted the athletes at all the sports hostels of Karnataka to consume the same kind of food which was rich on nutrition,” said Agarwal on Friday.

The meal plans for the athletes were formed by Silky Mahajan, founder and sports nutritionist, Foods and Nutrition Clinic.

“We have avoided items like tea and certain sweets. We are trying to bring in a balance in the consumption of carbohydrates by the athletes and our focus is on nutrition. Our studies revealed that athletes would consume an extra of 1500 calories than the required amount.

“We wanted to be more accurate in this aspect. Instead of three times a day, we have structured a plan in which athletes will now eat five times a day,” Agarwal said.

Popular food of different districts were also included in the menu in order to help the athletes enjoy local flavour. 

Athletes of the sports hostel at the Sree Kanteerava stadium had complained about lack of quality food three days ago. Agarwal said it was a temporary problem that arose while executing this new food plan.

“After we decided on the change in menu, we did not want to hand a contract to any company. DYES decided to run the mess because we wanted to execute our plan to perfection. However, our cook stopped working from June 1.

“The plan has worked well in all the other sports hostels of the state. But the cost of food is a little higher in Bengaluru and that was one of the reasons behind the previous agency showing lack of interest. This created some inconvenience to athletes,” explained Agarwal.

He added that the problem will be resolved in a week’s time.