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Step-motherly treatment for gymnastics in India
It won’t be a wrong perception to have if we say that not many really ‘care’ about the sport of gymnastics in India. The step-motherly treatment meted out to the sport over the years has been a sustained one and not much seems to have changed despite one Allahabad lad, Ashish Kumar, making a humongous effort of breathing ‘oxygen’ into the sport at the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games.
As Ashish scooped up a silver as well as a bronze, he probably himself did not even realize the enormity of the history he had scripted (India’s first-ever gymnastics medal in Commonwealth Games).
To put things bluntly, the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) has cut a sorry figure after the highs of the 2010 CWG. The GFI’s mismanagement and in-fighting reached such a level that the Union Sports Ministry derecognized them in August 2012, which effectively meant the federation wouldn’t get any government aid for training camps and competitions.
Problems aplenty for the Gymnastics Federation of India
In fact, the happenings in GFI are nothing short of a ‘saas bahu’-style soap opera. Jaspal Singh Khandari was re-elected as GFI president in elections held in July 2011, but the Sports Ministry refused to take cognizance of that, with the former even moving the High Court but failing to get any relief. Senior Haryana police officer PV Rathee was elected as GFI president unopposed in July 2012 when the elections were held for the second time.
All these happenings ensured the sport came to a standstill. The country’s gymnasts were deprived of vital preparation as there were no international exposure trips or training camps organized for the players between October 2011 and August 2013. Close to two years of no tournaments meant that our gymnasts struggled to stay competitive preparation-wise.
The mismanagement and infighting in GFI hurt Ashish in particular as he missed out on a promotion in Railways (his employers) since promotion is linked to medal-winning performances. Even India’s foreign coach Vladimir Chertkov, who was instrumental in guiding Ashish in the 2010 CWG, left the job in 2011, terming the GFI as a ‘useless organization’.
Some relief for the talented gymnasts
It was only in August 2013 that the Indian gymnastics finally got some much-needed training when SAI starting holding camps – at least that ensured our gymnasts could now train. And when finally an international meet beckoned (their first since the 2011 South Asian Gymnastics Championship held in Dhaka), Indian gymnasts stamped their presence. They bagged a rich haul of seven medals including three gold, three silver and one bronze in the International Commonwealth Championships held at Perth, Australia last April. India’s trump card Ashish Kumar won two gold as well as two silver medals to warm up nicely for the 2014 CWG.
Clearly, the Indian gymnasts have received a raw deal over the years, especially failing to build on the sport’s revival after winning two medals at the 2010 CWG. Given the official mismanagement, lack of adequate training and international exposure, it will be a touch unfair to expect too much from the Ashish Kumar-spearheaded Indian gymnastics contingent, which also features Odisha’s Rakesh Patra, Jharkhand’s Partho Mandal, UP’s Siddharth Verma and Indian Railways’ Aditya Singh Rana.
One hopes the Indian gymnasts are able to tide over the odds and come out with a strong statement at Glasgow.
