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Indian shot put gold medalist Inderjeet Singh’s wait for resuming training has ended. Inderjeet who bagged gold medals at China, Bangkok and South Korea earlier this year, has had his training disrupted owing to the whole kerfuffle involving bureaucracy, red tape and general running around.
According to Indiatoday, Inderjeet has missed several practice sessions, something which he does not do otherwise.
"The four-month delay has disrupted my training routine. I never skip my practice sessions, but had to run after officials in Delhi. If an Asian champion had to undergo such an ordeal, one can imagine the plight of other athletes who are in need of government assistance," the shot putter said.
"They were athletes in their time. When I told SAI officials that I want to train under them they asked me who they were," said Inderjeet, referring to Shakti Singh and Pritam Singh, who are both personal trainers to the former.
The 27-year-old commented on the state of his career.
"My target was to finish my US stint ahead of the South Asian Games (to be held in February) but now I don’t know how it will work out. Such delays hamper the progress of athletes," Inderjeet said, referring to the aforementioned formalities that consumed his time.
Inderjeet, who won gold in the Federations Cup held in Mangaluru earlier this year, commented on the Target Olympic Podium Scheme’s (TOPS) apathy towards the Punjab man, when he requested to have his personal coaches accompany him to the USA.
TOPS is an organisation with goals similar to that of the OGQ (Olympic Gold Quest). The organisation aims to promote athletes in India who are up and coming, to support them, in their conquest of becoming successful and winning medals for India.
The organisation provides financial support and facilities for training, to athletes who are selected. The organisation which is funded by the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), is sadly plagued by poor management and unnecessary formalities.
Hopefully, the prospective success of an organisation like the OGQ, which was founded by Prakash Padukone and Geet Sethi, will make the need for TOPS obsolete.
Speaking about his plans for after he gets to the USA, he said, "For the first time in my career, I will get access to professional physiotherapists and masseurs. The equipment available for training in US will be state-of-the-art."
Inderjeet will be looking to make an impact for Indian Field Athletics in the upcoming Summer Olympics 2016.
