Awaiting an Army of ‘serviced’ sportsmen

Despite the number of projects aimed at grooming talent from grass-roots level, Olympic glory has eluded India time and again. We came back empty-handed after every appearance with the realisation that we were simply not good enough. The Army Sports Institute (ASI) at Ghorpuri in Pune cantonment — inaugurated this January — is the latest effort in the direction of producing future sportspersons on a two-fold basis — Asian and then Olympics.

Says former international rower and Arjuna Awardee, Col Amin Naik, and the commandant of the unit ‘‘Olympics medals are out target,’’ the focus being the 2004 Olympics at Athens and 2008 Olympics at Beijing.

With the intake being restricted to 200 sportspersons, the ASI has made it a point to adopt a ‘do-it-themselves’ stand with the stress on ‘performance.’

In fact, the Army-controlled ASI has already deputed personnel to various Open and age-group National meets. ‘‘Our selection system is very simple if we (a four-man talent selection team) find someone good we offer them the opportunity,’’ informs Col Naik.

As part of the deal those wishing to join would be given employment in the Army as per their status. With the lower limit of age being under-14, those selected in this age group would be paid Rs 1,000 until he comes of normal recruitment age.

As a special incentive, the ASI is seeking approval to offer sportspersons who have already represented the country the JCO rank. The ASI also assures two compulsory trips abroad for competition.

Individually each sportsperson after six months would be put through evaluation tests (physical/mental). ‘‘No improvement would mean automatic one-month notice to leave,’’ adds Col. Naik.

The ASI centre would form the main hub of activity catering to five disciplines — athletics, diving, boxing, weightlifting and archery — of the 10 shortlisted as prospective ‘‘medal winners.’’ The athletics event would only cater to middle and long-distance athletes.

This, as the Colonel puts it, is because ‘‘it is in these disciplines that we stand a chance in the Olympics. ‘‘Athletes would be trained in other disciplines but under our ‘Operation Olympics’ scheme, the ASI would be concentrating on these events only.’’

The other events would be based at various other centers — sailing at Mumbai, rowing (College of Military Engineering, Pune), wrestling (Belgaum), shooting (Mhow), equestrian (Bangalore).

With the focus clear, the ASI has split the 200 sportspersons into to groups to attain excellence levels.

A group of 105 sportsmen would form the senior group with the 2004 Games in target. They would be ‘seasoned’ trained sportspersons, while the junior group would be those from the sub-junior and junior level — groomed from scratch.

But the ASI is still to get ‘‘fully operational’’ which, in Col Naik’s words, ‘‘is because the funds for the project is in its last stages of finalisation.’’

However, talent spotting and recruitment has already started. Of the 40 who have been offered slots in the ASI, 12 have joined the training programmes while 28 more are waiting for their exams to get over.

Ambitious, as it may sound, those selected — presently restricted to male sportspersons — would avail the state-of-art facilities. Not just that, the ASI will have everything that is associated with the modern-era Games: international equipment/facilities, wholesome regulated diet, an audio-visual library and, aboe all, internationally repute coaches.

For Col Naik and his team the thing that is utmost on their mind is produce a few medalists at the Olympics. A high dream, considering the fact that only a handful have been won so far. But then, this gives another chance to whet our appetite.