Swimmers get that sinking feeling

Before we talk of Indian swimmers8217; prospects at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, let8217;s take a look at how hosts Australia have be...

Before we talk of Indian swimmers8217; prospects at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, let8217;s take a look at how hosts Australia have been preparing for the big event.

The Australian probables were spotted even before the Manchester Games in 2002. Since then all the medal prospects in various events have been training under national coach Eric Arnold.

The scenario is quite different in India. With less then eight weeks to go for the Melbourne Games, the Swimming Federation of India SFI is yet to start a camp. Though eight probables were recently named, the federation isn8217;t certain who are best bet for the Commonwealth Games.

8220;The camp will commence shortly in Bangalore,8221; SFI secretary Virender Nanawati told The Indian Express from Ahmedabad. Just that the federation hasn8217;t a clue as to who has the potential to reach the final of any event and/or finish among the top six in Melbourne.

The performance of the top swimmers could be gauged only during the camp. Only then will the federation be able to finalise the team members. So what was the pointy in selecting the 8216;probables8217; in the first place? There was no long-term development plan for Melbourne.

The annual plan, according to the SFI secretary, is discussed with the government read Sports Authority of India. But if the camp for Melbourne hasn8217;t got underway so far, the yearly plan probably has remained on paper only.

As it looks today, with top class swimmers in from hosts Australia and Canada, Indians will possibly finish in the also-rans8217; category.

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Asian silver medallist Khajan Singh says it8217;s not just training but proper exposure too, that is needed to excel. The probables lack in both. Khajan says it8217;s near to impossible to think of decent placing leave alone win a medal.

Khajan won silver 200m butterfly at the Seoul Asian Games. Since then no Indian swimmers has surpassed Khajan8217;s feat. But Khajan had the opportunity to train in Australia 8211; in fact, under Eric Arnold 8211; for a long time.

When asked about the lack of international exposure, the SFI secretary said a proposal has been send to the government. 8220;Some swimmers read Arjun Murlidharan, Amar Murlidharan may go in future to train abroad,8221; said Nanavati.

THE PROBABLES

MEN
Arjun Muralidharan, Rehan Poncha, Puneet Rana breast stroke 100, 200, Mandar Divas, Veer Daval Khade, Rohit Hawaldar.

WOMEN
Sikha Tandon, Sobha C.
Coach: Pradeep Kumar