Support athletes in their early days: Mirabai Chanu
Karam Prakash
Tribune news Service
Patiala, August 25
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, silver medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, said that more work was required at the grassroots level if India wanted to become a leading nation in sports.
As most athletes in Indian come from rural backgrounds, the country needed more facilities at the village level to uplift Indian sports, Chanu said.
Chanu said that athletes needed more support at the early stages of their careers than after they win medals. “There is a need to support the players during their training and struggling days so that they don’t lose focus. Parents should also support their kids if they want to pursue sports,” said Chanu, addressing the media at NIS Patiala today.
Chanu hoped that her medal at the Tokyo Olympics would motivate more girls from the Northeast to take up sports as they have great potential. Chanu said that though winning an Olympics medal was her dream and she had worked hard for it, that nothing had changed in her life after the Tokyo Games. Chanu, who returned to her training centre at the NIS Patiala, said: “I am happy to be back at my training centre and I will immediately start my training.”
Sharma not in favour of foreign coaches
Meanwhile, Chanu’s coach Vijay Sharma said there is no need of foreign coaches to train the Indian athletes, adding that the Indian coaches were capable enough. “I am totally against it (hiring foreign coaches). Instead, we should send Indian coaches to the best sports nations for exposure,” he said.
Sharma added that there was a need to develop sports culture to increase India’s medal tally at the Olympic Games. “We lack a sports culture. If there is a sports culture in the country, I will get more weightlifters to train. I am hopeful that Indians will win more medals,” he said.
When asked about the challenges faced due to Covid-19 while preparing for the Games, he said: “It was difficult because the players were at their peak when the lockdown happened. However, we managed to train.”
