India’s elite swimmers are without a pool to train days before they leave to participate in the Uzbekistan Open Championships, which is a Tokyo Olympics qualification event. Nine Indian swimmers, including Srihari Nataraj, were forced to stop training in Bengaluru from Saturday after the Karnataka government ordered all pools closed as part of its guidelines to check the rapid spread of Covid.
The swimmers have been training at the Padukone-Dravid Centre For Sports Excellence. They had their last session on Friday but were unable to access the pool on Saturday. The Tashkent event starts on April 12 and the swimmers are set to leave on 9th. Fourteen Indian swimmers will compete, including some who are training abroad.
“If I don’t get a chance to swim for the next five days it will definitely have an impact. It’s like I am driving a 100 miles-an-hour car and meet a speed breaker. The next five days are crucial for everyone who is going to participate in the Olympic qualification competition,” says Nataraj.
Six Indian swimmers, including Nataraj, have achieved B qualification standard but that does not guarantee a place in Tokyo. Nataraj, who achieved the ‘B’ qualification timing of 54.69 seconds in 100m backstroke at the world junior championships in Budapest in 2019, is aiming for the ‘A’ qualification mark of 53.85 secs, which will ensure a berth in the Tokyo Olympics. The Tashkent meet will be his first international competition in more than a year.
Indian swimmers were the last to resume training as pools were opened only in mid-October. Nataraj had no access to a pool for five months till then. It was a long wait since the late-March lockdown last year as Nataraj and a couple of other swimmers were sent to Dubai only in August to train as pools remained shut in India.
{{/usCountry}}Indian swimmers were the last to resume training as pools were opened only in mid-October. Nataraj had no access to a pool for five months till then. It was a long wait since the late-March lockdown last year as Nataraj and a couple of other swimmers were sent to Dubai only in August to train as pools remained shut in India.
{{/usCountry}}Once they opened, the swimmers participated in a national camp in Bengaluru. An All-India Invitational Senior National meet was held besides the Karnataka state meet.
“Last two months the swimmers have participated in two good races and given good performances. This closure of the pool will jeopardise the entire thing. There is no restriction on any other sport, why swimming?” asks senior coach Nihar Ameen, who has been training the swimmers in Bengaluru.
“All the SOPs are in place. We didn’t have a single positive case in swimming so far, yet the pools are shut down. We understand cases are rising and the state government has taken certain steps, but at least allow the swimmers who have a competition at hand to train,” he says.
The swimming federation is trying contact the authorities to try and see if the elite swimmers can be given relief from Monday, said Monal Chokshi, secretary general, Swimming Federation of India (SFI).
"The national camp ended on April 22. But Karnataka swimmers and swimmers from other places are training there. They will be affected by this order. The Karnataka association will talk to the government and see if it can get special permission for these swimmers. Otherwise, we will have to move them to some other state where they can train," he said.