Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has often spoken about putting the sportsperson first. However, it seems India still has a long way to go before this goal is achieved.
A case in point is the forthcoming National Cycling Championships, scheduled to be held at Sawai Mansingh Stadium¡¯s velodrome from Wednesday. Pathetic would be a mild word to describe the conditions in which most of the cyclists have been housed. The entire Rajasthan men¡¯s team of 30 have been put up in a hall ¡ª that is about 30 x 20 feet ¡ª below the velodrome stands. Worse, there are no beds. They have been given mattresses to be put on the floor. With the temperature dipping to well below 10 degrees Celsius, it can be extremely uncomfortable at night. ¡°It is,¡± a cyclist admitted. ¡°But we have to manage.¡±
The organisers, Rajasthan Cycling Association, a newly-formed body, expressed their helplessness. ¡°This is all that we have,¡± the officials said.
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True, there have been financial constraints for them. The officials had to dip into their personal reserves to meet the almost Rs 75 lakh budget, which includes renovation of the velodrome that has rarely been used in its two decades of existence. The Cycling Federation of India has given them Rs 5 lakh and has assured another five. State sports minister Ashok Chandna has granted the same amount and assured another Rs 10 lakh from the chief minister¡¯s fund.
It is not just the hosts. Most of the other teams have been put in similar halls. The Maharastra men¡¯s team have a smaller hall as there are only 22 of them.
¡°We are not used to this cold and we do not even get warm water to bath,¡± a Maharashtra cyclist said. None of them want to be quoted out of fear. ¡°If we are found complaining, our selection will get blocked,¡± he said.
Departmental teams like Services and Railways, however, have arranged for their own accommodation. The international players have been given preference and have been kept in hotels. However, they get up early to be with their mates. The Maharashtra team has two international gold medallists, Mayur Pawar (Asian Championship, 2017) and Abhishek Kasith (Asia Cup, 2017).
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¡°We are in a better state, but it would have been good if the entire team was accommodated in hotels,¡± they said.
Officials also cited the cyclists¡¯ reluctance to stay in hotels.
¡°Most of the hotels have refused to allow cycles in the room and these athletes will not let their cycles out of sight for even a minute,¡± organising secretary Ritesh Choudhary said. The players, they claim, have not asked for cots and seem to be quite happy with mattresses. When told about this, the cyclists only smiled.
Mukesh Kumar, who has won six national medals so far, agreed that staying away from their cycles was not an option. ¡°Our cycles cost around Rs 5 lakh each and we cannot afford any damage to them,¡± he said. ¡°Even a scratch is unbearable.¡± It is his personal cycle, bought with the money collected by his farmer father and school teacher mother.
Dev Kishan Saharan, who has two Asia Cup bronze to his name, differs. ¡°If I get a proper storage facility, I am willing to keep my cycles there,¡± he said.
The storage facility provided does not meet the expectations. So, apart from 30 cyclists, the hall allotted to Rajasthan also has 20 cycles. On Tuesday, Saharan moved out to a cousin¡¯s place.
The Maharashtra girls have been accommodated in a hall that is almost of same size as the men¡¯s. However, space is not an issue for the six-member team. The problem, however, is the bathroom, which is some distance away.