JOIN USLike for every organisation in the country, this Covid-19 pandemic has been a tough one for the Indian Olympic Association to deal with. From being in the process of giving final touches to its Olympic contingent to now comforting the heart-broken athletes, things have taken a dramatic turn. IOA president Narinder Dhruv Batra, who also heads the International Hockey Federation (FIH), however, feels things are under control despite the uncertain road ahead.
In a chat with DH, Batra speaks about athletes’ demands for resumption of training, the status of the National Games, scheduled to be held in Goa from October 20-November 4, and the challenges various federations are facing.
When would you recommend resumption of full fledged training in the country?
That depends on the sport. We’ve already asked this question to the various National Sports Federations (NSFs) and they are sending their responses. We will also to have to keep in mind the government restrictions and guidelines and the guidelines issued by the WHO (World Health Organisation). We will consider all this and chart out a roadmap. Every sport is unique. You can’t compare wrestling with hockey or hockey with badminton and badminton with chess. Different sports have different requirements. We have already started the negotiations. Federations are talking to athletes, officials... Everyone (involved). We’ve been in constant discussions with the government too. It’s an ongoing process. On Monday, the ministry spoke to weightlifting (body), on Tuesday they’ll be talking to athletics guys and on May 14 they will be talking to hockey players. We also need to figure out which centres will be available, which are in Green zones, what restrictions are there in those centres, we will weigh in all these and chart out a plan.
Hockey, athletics and weightlifting teams are currently based in SAI centres and some have requested outdoor training because they believe the venues are safe...
It’s not so easy. We have to go by experts who are monitoring the situation. We are talking to everyone. There are Government of India home ministry restrictions. You also have to follow the law. Taking all these factors into considerations is how we can make a decision and things are moving forward that way.
At this very difficult time a lot of the smaller NSFs would be looking up to the IOA for help and guidance. How do you intend to handle it?
Can you give me one example of a federation that has gone under loss or waiting for some amount to reach them. There are support systems from the IOA to the federations and it’s an ongoing process and that is happening. According to me, not a single federation has complained so far. I keep on talking to them — small and big. Even the state Olympic associations get their funds annually and it’s been continuing.
What is the status of the October-November National Games in Goa?
As of now it stands. Already things have started to open up in the country. Goa anyway is in the Green Zone. There are no cases in Goa. We’ll see how it goes. This is not the right time to take a call because October-November is quite sometime away. You don’t have to fly out of India. Travelling by trains is starting and I hope it doesn’t stop. The other public transport system, buses, will also start. I think air travel is also starting somewhere around 20th or 25th of this month, that’s what I’ve been hearing from the news. Things have started to get a move-on now, so let’s see.
With the Olympics postponed by a year to 2021, there are a lot difficulties the IOA must be facing, like say seeking more funds for preparation of athletes etc. How challenging is it?
I don’t think so. Everyone knows what the situation is and everyone is positive in having discussions and coming to a solution. It’s not that something someone is trying to be negative and create more problems. Be it the ministry or federations, everyone knows what the current problems are. These are something that’s beyond everyone’s control. I think everyone has been cooperative, ministry, officials, federations etc. None of the coaches, hockey they are not going until the Olympics next year. Same is happening for other sports also, the negotiations are on.
You said that you are in constant touch with athletes and NSFs. What are the athletes saying about this pandemic?
I don’t discuss things with athletes. I do speak with hockey players but not athletes of other federations. I remain in touch with them through the IOA Athletes Commission or through the president and secretary general of NSFs. As far as the information I have, I think everything is going good. Trainers and high performance coaches of various sports are in touch the respective athletes. Things are very much in control.