That same old sinking feeling

Officially, India8217;s swimming prospects at Athens 2004 have been almost written off. History hasn8217;t been kind either: just one international medal, at the 1986 Asiad. Yet the amount of money spent on swimming 8212; similar to archery and several other less popular sports 8212; and on its facilities could perhaps be better spent elsewhere.

Richa Mishra, who won six titles at the National Games without once coming close to the sixth-best timing of the 2002 Asian Games, will be training in Hungary for four months at government cost.

Rehan Poncha, who won the best swimmer8217;s title at the Nationals, is training in Australia.

And KV Sharma, vice-president of the Swimming Federation of India, says there is a chance that two more swimmers may be sent to train abroad for a few months so that they can qualify for Athens.

That would cost a pittance compared to the cost 8212; Rs 2 crore annually 8212; of running the four centres catering to the national probables, Delhi8217;s Talkatora, NIS Patiala, Bangalore and Gandhinagar.

The Talkatora complex is equipped with a highly sophisticated electronic timer installed by the sports ministry at a cost of Rs 1.25 crores; maintenance alone costs Rs 6 lakhs. And in winter, the cost of diesel to heat the pool is Rs 25 lakh.

So what8217;s wrong with swimming?

India8217;s only medal-winner Khazan Singh says there8217;s no planning and or programme for the sport to develop.

8216;8216;Our main problem is that we club everyone together and put them all under the same kind of training. We don8217;t have a system to recognise special talents and mould them accordingly.8217;8217;

Khazan was helped by a three-year stint of rigorous training in Australia 8212; that helped him grow as a swimmer and the return was the Asiad silver. A four-month stint, as in Richa8217;s case, is hardly likely to bridge the gap between Indian and Olympic standards.

Put this to Sharma and he replies, with a verbal shrug of the shoulders, 8216;8216;We thought, let them swimmers go as in other disciplines and train abroad.8217;8217; He then added, as an afterthought, 8216;8216;I feel out of the 4-5, at least 2 will qualify for Olympics this time.8217;8217;

If he8217;s so bullish about the future, why is the past so lean? The reply is cryptic: 8216;8216;You see the sports system in the country 8212; leave swimming, there are other sports too.

Whoever is elected, let him come. In our country we have not achieved anything in the Olympics so far. Where is the systenm to monitor? The federation is also justified that we don8217;t have equipment.8217;8217;

Khazan disagrees about the equipment and points instead to the lack of planning. Former swimmers, he says, including himself are not allowed to play a role in developing the sport.

He says, 8216;8216;There is a fear that if those with a swimming background are involved in running the game, the power will go away from those who currently control it.8217;8217;