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Sports Minister calls for ‘co-ordination among stakeholders’
Sports Ministry, IOA, and SAI officials met to review India's Paris Olympics preparation, emphasizing coordination and prioritizing country's interest.
New Delhi: A high-powered committee of Sports Ministry, and top IOA and SAI officials met here on Friday to take stock of India’s preparation for the Paris Olympics.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who chaired the meeting, said there should be “co-ordination among all the stakeholders.” He also emphasised that officials should put “country’s interest before personal interest,” according to people aware of the development.
These remarks come as IOA officials struggle to resolve their differences related to their accreditation, even as some financial matters await clearance.
“The members of the IOA executive council want access cards given to National Olympic Committees, which are distributed to federations. These cards grant access to all venues and federation officials need them for various work,” said an IOA official.
“Only a limited number of such cards (six) are available for India. Some IOA officials also want to take their family members,” the official added.
A co-ordination committee of various stakeholders was set-up during the meeting. IOA president PT Usha and SAI DG Sandip Pradhan were also present in the meeting.
Usha and IOA executive committee members have been at loggerheads over several issues, including the appointment of CEO Raghuram Iyer. His appointment is yet to be ratified.
After joining office, Sports Ministry Mandaviya had met the IOA executive council members and asked them to put their difference behind, it has been learnt.
Three coaches for Mirabai Chanu!
India will have a contingent of 257 members, which include 118 athletes, at the Olympics. Interestingly, Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu will be assisted by three coaches and one physio. Besides national coach Vijay Sharma, Sandip Kumar and Pramod Kumar have been included in the contingent as coaches in weightlifting. Rohit Shyam Chhabria is the physio.
Tokyo gold medallist Neeraj Chopra will have his coach Klaus Bartonietz and physio Ishaan Marwaha. The likes of Manu Bhaker, Vinesh Phogat, PV Sindhu, Manika Batra, Jyothi Yarraji, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Rajeshwari Kumari will have their personal coaches.
In wrestling, Anshu Malik, Antim Panghal, Nisha Dahiya, Aman Sehrawat’s coaches are being accommodated in ‘non-accredited’ category.
