Bodybuilder Raj Kumar rues lack of financial support

Vikas Sharma

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Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 20

State bodybuilder Raj Kumar, who is representing India along with five other athletes in the 50th Asian Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (AFBF) Championship being held at Beijing in China from May 18 to 22, has not got even a single penny as financial support. The other selected body builders are Arun Shokeen, Sandeep Kumar, Hitesh Thakran, Yashmeen Chauhan and Karuna Waghmare.

Raj Kumar was selected for the sporting event after he qualified the selection trials conducted at the Jumbo Darshan Jiva Mahale Road, Andheri, Mumbai, on April 23.

In an interview with The Tribune before leaving for China, the bodybuilder from the remote RS Pura area in Jammu district explained about the hardships being faced by bodybuilders like him due to the lack of support be it from the state government, J&K State Sports Council or bodybuilding association.

“Whatever a sportsperson in the state achieved at higher level, it has no value in the eyes of the authorities at the helm of affairs. It can be gauged from the fact when I informed the association about my selection for the prestigious event, there was no reaction whatsoever,” Raj Kumar said.

“In April this year, I bagged “Mr India” title in the Men Physique Category at Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh where I defeated many renowned bodybuilders of the country, but there was no mention of it in the newspapers. The association did not show any interest to highlight my achievement,” the body builder said.

“Ever since my selection in the championship, I had gone from pillar to post arranging finance to go to China, but in vain. Finally, I am going on my own because I do not want to lose this life-time opportunity to represent my country. I had prepared so hard for this,” he said.

“Most of the bodybuilders are from middle class families having financial constraints. Due to this, they are not able to take much care of the mandatory diet. Despite facing tremendous hardships, they still manage to compete at higher levels without any support from the authorities. Strong sponsorship is all what a player needs to get a boost to perform at the international level,” Raj Kumar opined.

Shiv Kumar Sharma, joint secretary, Sports Council, said: “Whatever main issues are confronting our sportspersons, it will be taken up in the upcoming meeting”.