HP schools lag in Nationals

Gaurav Kanthwal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 7

With just one bronze medal to show, Himachal Pradesh cut a sorry figure in the recently-concluded 61st National Schools Athletics Championship in Kozikhode (Jan 29 to Feb 2). 

As many as 49 athletes (22 boys, 27 girls) accompanied by 15 coaches and officials from schools from the state, government as well as private, took part in the event. The hill state finished a poor 22nd among 35 teams.

Chamba girl Seema, who trains at SAI Centre, Dharamsala, was the lone medallist (bronze) in the 49-strong contingent. The 16-year-old clocked 10 minutes, 35.71 seconds to finish third in the 3000m race on the first day. After that, there was only embarrassment in store for the athletes and coaches over the next four days. Out of the 49 athletes, only eight could make it to the semifinal and final stages. All the rest were eliminated in the heats.

In contrast, Punjab had a fruitful outing, with three gold, nine silver and six bronze to finish sixth with 48 points. Haryana won seven gold, two silver and five bronze to end up seventh with 46 points in 95 events.

Himachal Pradesh team liaison officer P Shahasil said: “HP finished at the 22nd spot. Hosts Kerala swept the medals tally followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.”

The poor showing in a national-level tournament has brought the role of the accompanying coaches and school officials into sharp focus. Already questions are being raised about the lackadaisical attitude of the coaches in the conditioning camps that were held at various venues across the state. In Hamirpur, most of the athletes and coaches were reportedly absent on the very first day of the camp. The poor results have also raised questions over the logic of sending an unusually high number of coaches with the athletes.

“The signs were there to see on the very first day of the conditioning camp but the Education Department higher-ups chose to turn a blind eye to them,” said a coach in Hamirpur. “The last one month has been a paid holiday for these coaches. The results tell the whole story.”

Failure has almost become a norm for the Himachal Pradesh schools in the national-level tournaments. The lack of interest among the coaches and scarcity of facilities are the most frequently-cited reasons for this.

In a sense it was a deja vu for Himachal Pradesh in Kerala as they had finished 29th among 32 competing states in the National Games in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in February 2015.