Thanks to the Indian Olympic Association, Boxer Akhil Kumar stands the risk of becoming another Sriram Singh
One of India’s genuine medal hopes at the Beijing 2008 Olympics – Boxer Akhil Kumar was extremely unhappy as he boarded the flight to China. His unhappiness was due to the fact that his physical trainer – Heath Mathew was not cleared by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to be part of the Olympics. The IOA had fixed a total quota of 42 officials overall and 3 for boxing. Two places were taken by the coaches, one by a manager and the South African trainer had to be sacrificed.
Heath is one of the best in the world at what he does and has helped Akhil recover from two wrist injuries in the past. He has also worked extensively with the other boxers making the trip to China. His role is critical and the need for a physical trainer in a physical sport like boxing cannot be overstated.
I don’t understand why the manager was not sacrificed. What is he going to do? What exactly is he going to manage there? Is he going to act as Akhil’s sparring partner? Or will he play trainer? What help will he provide if one of the boxers were to get injured? Will he apply a band-aid in that case?
Unlike many of the other members of the Indian contingent who have just about managed to meet the qualify mark for Beijing and have no realistic medal hope, Akhil has a really good shot. I am rooting for him to win a medal and just pray to God that the IOA’s best efforts to de-motivate him and leave him at the mercy of a manager in case of an injury come to no good.
The worrying news is that there is a historical precedent of a similar occurrence. In the 1976 Olympics, Sriram Singh had a great chance of winning a medal in the 800 metres. He finished second in the semi-final heat and made the finals. But he ran the semi-final race on a synthetic track. This was his first experience on an artificial surface and the effort took a toll on his legs. Sadly there was no physiotherapist available to massage and relax his legs. Undeterred, Sriram Singh ran valiantly in the final and led till the 550 metre mark before fading out to finish seventh. The lack of a physiotherapist probably cost him a medal.
I just hope Akhil doesn’t suffer the same fate as Sriram Singh. But if he does suffer from an injury and if that affects his performance, I hope Randhir Singh and Suresh Kalmadi and all the others in the IOA rot in hell forever and get no medical attention for the rest of their lives.
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Heath is one of the best in the world at what he does and has helped Akhil recover from two wrist injuries in the past. He has also worked extensively with the other boxers making the trip to China. His role is critical and the need for a physical trainer in a physical sport like boxing cannot be overstated.
I don’t understand why the manager was not sacrificed. What is he going to do? What exactly is he going to manage there? Is he going to act as Akhil’s sparring partner? Or will he play trainer? What help will he provide if one of the boxers were to get injured? Will he apply a band-aid in that case?
Unlike many of the other members of the Indian contingent who have just about managed to meet the qualify mark for Beijing and have no realistic medal hope, Akhil has a really good shot. I am rooting for him to win a medal and just pray to God that the IOA’s best efforts to de-motivate him and leave him at the mercy of a manager in case of an injury come to no good.
The worrying news is that there is a historical precedent of a similar occurrence. In the 1976 Olympics, Sriram Singh had a great chance of winning a medal in the 800 metres. He finished second in the semi-final heat and made the finals. But he ran the semi-final race on a synthetic track. This was his first experience on an artificial surface and the effort took a toll on his legs. Sadly there was no physiotherapist available to massage and relax his legs. Undeterred, Sriram Singh ran valiantly in the final and led till the 550 metre mark before fading out to finish seventh. The lack of a physiotherapist probably cost him a medal.
I just hope Akhil doesn’t suffer the same fate as Sriram Singh. But if he does suffer from an injury and if that affects his performance, I hope Randhir Singh and Suresh Kalmadi and all the others in the IOA rot in hell forever and get no medical attention for the rest of their lives.
