Lusofonia Games 2014: Indian volleyball participants forced to practise in alien conditions

In yet another example of poor infrastructure and lack of preparation in India, the country’s volleyball stars who are set to compete in the Lusofonia Games were forced to carry out their training session outdoors, as the indoor stadium at the Goa University complex in Taleigao was not ready.

The players, on Tuesday, had to train at the SAG ground in Campal. That was unchartered territory for most, considering volleyball is an indoor sport, and hardly ever played under open skies.

This comes in the wake of another complaint in which the Indian team had to wait several hours before their rooms were allotted to them.

As per the revised schedule prepared by the Lusofonia Games organizing committee, the indoor facility will be up and running only by Thrusday, which means the volleyball team will have to spend one more day training out in the open.

Talking to TOI, coach Appunuchari Venkatesan confirmed they will have to do the same even on Wednesday.

“We will train indoors tomorrow (Wednesday),” he said.

According to the Goa Volleyball Association, the Goan players will now join the national squad in their preparations.

“The Goans will be with the rest of the squad from Tuesday,” said association secretary Santosh Bandodkar.

The games are scheduled to start on the 18th of January, which will see the participation of 12 countries from across the world. The event will host 9 sports across 6 venues in Goa, with 1,000 athletes expected to participate.