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Indian rowers may miss out on Olympics
The chances of Indian rowers qualifying for Rio Olympics are fast vanishing into thin air. This sense of despondency is prevailing in the circles following the stand-off between the Rowing Federation of India (RFI) and Services.
Hyderabad: The chances of Indian rowers qualifying for Rio Olympics are fast vanishing into thin air. This sense of despondency is prevailing in the circles following the stand-off between the Rowing Federation of India (RFI) and Services.
The rift between the two became crystal clear on Friday during an exclusive interaction with the fresh re-elected RFI President Rajlaxmi Singh Deo, who is in town for the ongoing 34th National Rowing Championship at Hussainsagar Lake.
Stranded in the crisis are 11 Rio hopeful rowers, each of whom belongs to Services. “The Olympic preparation is in jeopardy. The first preparatory camp as a run up to the Asian qualifier (to be held at Chungju in South Korea from April 24) was successfully held in Pune till January 10.
The second was to start on January 25, which, unfortunately, is yet to take-off. From our side, we have already sanctioned the budget but they are yet to act upon it. We are not even sure if and when the second camp will be held,” was the exasperated rebuttal by Rajlaxmi Deo.
Without lashing out at anyone in particular, she said ‘we are sorry that we will not able to send the teams in the single scull and double scull for Olympic qualifying. This will be a sad day for the country.
Unfortunately, trouble in being brewed within when it ought to have been the time to show solidarity and come together in the country’s interest. It is also a matter of intrigue that 11 of the 85 rowers belonging to Services have been caught in mid-waters for no fault of theirs.
‘Unless they practice to the required levels from where can we expect results even if there is a patch-up and a team is fielded in the Asian qualifier? At this moment, they should have been in the national conditioning camp under the national coach,’ she said.
Rajlaxmi Deo pointed out that they had already written a letter to the Defence Ministry. ‘I feel that equality for all regiments in the Indian army is paramount. I wonder why there is favoritism for Corps of Engineers rowers.
At the personal level, I am prepared to work out a solution and willing to talk. However, I am against army domination on crucial issues that pertain to the sport,’ she said. “We are ready to talk to anybody including Corps of Engineers for the improvement of the game. They can be given primary membership for one to two years,” she added.
Meanwhile, she said that the national championship has opened the doors for the civilians, which is a good long-term investment. Having just entered her second term in the hot seat, she says although she was in favour of having Services rowers on board, civilians should be due opportunities.
