Athletes face dining room dilemma

A bunch of giggly north Indian girls from the hockey team,while returning from the ‘tandoor’ section,make a brief stopover at the ‘African’ counter. “I tried that sabzi yesterday,apni jaisi hi hai,” says one of them. The duo have a single scoop each and head to their table. Coach Pritam Rani Siwach keeps a close look on the plates of the team table. There are few rice eaters in the team as most morsels are of daal and vegetables scooped by rotis. Considering the high number of teenage girls in the squad a plate of french fries is being shared by five.

Like the women,the hockey men too are equally picky about their food. The heap of fruit peelings keeps mounting as men with toned bodies and sunken cheeks finish their meal. While moving out they have passed the hall that has a fresh whiff of muffins getting warmed in microwave ovens. Not very far,liquid chocolate is being poured on pastries and bagels. But all the skipper Rajpal Singh and men pick up on their way out are water bottles and fruits.

The scene at other tables is a bit different. Geeta Rani,the winner of the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medal in 75 kg category,is the odd woman out on the table as her plate is relatively full. Sitting next to her is L Monika Devi,the team’s star lifter from a lighter weight category. Ask Monica about her diet and she smiles as she sneaks a glance at her neighbour’s plate. “Geeta can afford to a eat a bit more than me since she is in a higher category. I just ate two tandoori chicken pieces today. Since I am in a lighter weight category,I have to weigh about 1 kg less than the upper limit in my category. At such a big event,you can’t afford to take chances,” she says.

The nutritionist at the Village,Emilie Istes,a Sydney resident,offers some food for thought about the athletes’ dinning room dilemmas. Last minute doubts about the contents of an alien cuisine or queries from teams that don’t have a dietician are few things that Istes is dealing with. “The players have to keep a strict watch on what they eat. But it will be wrong to say that athletes eat quite less. It depends on individuals and the sport they pursue,” she says. Giving an example,she stresses how a boxer or wrestler can be a paranoid weight watchers on the eve of his bout while a marathon runner might go on a carbohydrate binge a day before his race. “There are no fixed rules here,” she says.

Not far away an Indian weightlifter is ruefully looking at a team official who fills his dessert plate sumptuously with a cheesy cake. “Just check with the nutritionist,how many calories it has,” the lifter jokes. Sporting dreams are build on big sacrifices,they say. A meal time visit to the Village proves that some of them are made in the dining hall. Eating light and turning one’s back to a tray full of freshly baked brownies aren’t act associated with the weak-willed.