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Ludhiana: Basketball players in deprived of nutritious diet
Players representing the Punjab Institute of Sports, who stay at the District Basketball Academy hostels in Ludhiana complained of being deprived of basic nutritious diet in the hostel mess; according to them, the quality of meals has worsened after the pandemic
Despite bringing numerous laurels to the country and making an impact on the National Basketball Association (NBA), the premiere global basketball league, players at the District Basketball Academy (DBA) are struggling to meet the basic nutrition necessary for them to compete in important tournaments.
Players representing the Punjab Institute of Sports (PIS), most of whom are also pursuing their education in the city, have alleged a lack of proper diet being provided to them during their stay at the DBA hostels.
A senior player staying at the hostel said, “We get simple dal and roti for lunch and dinner. We get two eggs with bread in the morning which is just not enough for us to train hard. We don’t even get a glass of milk. Those who are vegetarians are left with no other option but to train by having bread for breakfast. Despite making a lot of hue and cry, no one really bothers. .”
The situation has worsened since the pandemic, with the service of a non-vegetarian diet being discontinued.
“The quality of the food is poor, but we can’t voice our concerns with coaches or management here or else we would be thrown out of the team as there is mushrooming of players here,” another player said.
“Not every player can afford the non-veg diet as their parents are already struggling with their school or college expenses, but we sacrifice other important needs to buy proper nutritious meals for us,” he added.
A senior DBA official, sharing his concern, said no one in the administration has shown any interest in nourishing the talent.
“Sports ministry and other senior sports officials make tall claims of strengthening the foundation of the players since the beginning but everything remains on paper and nothing is being delivered. They are there to steal the credit of the success of the players who work hard with their coaches without fulfilling their basic needs as a player”, the official said.
He added that players cannot be expected to bag medals in big global sporting events if they have to continue to struggle for something as basic as a proper and nutritious diet.
A sports department official, meanwhile, claimed that a new contractor for providing the food at the DBA hostels may be appointed after the state assembly elections.
