Army’s Operation Get Olympic Medal: help from Havana

The Army was ‘‘tasked to win medals’ by none other than the Chief of Army Staff, General S Padmanabhan. ‘‘He floated a proposal for funds to train an Olympic-level armed forces team. The Army chose rifle shooting, archery, boxing, horse riding, basketball and volleyball,’’ an MoD spokesperson said.

In May, Lieutenant General Raj Kadyan, deputy chief of army staff (training and coordination), visited Cuba. The Army appears to be getting a good deal here since the Cubans are charging less than one-third of their normal rates. The Army is also interviewing coaches in South Korea for archery and trainers in Kenya for long distance running.

The Defence Ministry has set aside a cool Rs 60 crore for the pursuit, which isn’t confined to the 2004 Olympics but extends to the games in Beijing four years later. The Army has even set up a training institute in Pune.

‘‘Sports is serious business. In the Army, levels of discipline, dedication and motivation are higher, especially when the troops know their chief wants them to win a gold medal. This Rs 60 crore will be used over a period of three years to create sportsmen and sports infrastructure,’’ said the spokesperson.