The Hindu : Sport : Ten athletes leave for Ukraine

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Sport - Sports : General

Ten athletes leave for Ukraine

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Ten athletes, comprising nine 400m woman runners and woman discus thrower Krishna Poonia, left for Ukraine on Monday for a training programme geared towards the Commonwealth Games. They were accompanied by two coaches.

The 400m batch included all the athletes who had earlier completed a long training stint in Yalta. In fact, the first batch had exhausted its permitted quota of 75 days training-cum-competition tour abroad and required special clearance from the Finance department, on the recommendation of the International Division of the Union Sports Ministry, to make the latest trip.

The 400m squad contained: Mandeep Kaur, Sini Jose, Chitra Soman, Jauna Murmu, M.R. Poovamma, Priyanka Pawar, Manjeet Kaur, A. C. Ashwini and Tiana Mary Thomas.

The squad will join another batch of Indian athletes comprising male sprinters and one female sprinter.

It is learnt National record holder Manjeet Kaur, who dropped out of the Asian All-Star race here with an injury, and who has otherwise not run much this season, was placed 10th and last in the merit list for selection of the 4x400m relay team. Priyanka Pawar, who failed to qualify for the final of the inter-State, was placed ninth.

K. Mridula, who came seventh at Patiala, was in seventh position on the merit list, but did not find a place in the batch to Ukraine.

That both Manjeet and Priyanka (year's best 54.98s) have eventually made it to Ukraine, in an official batch of Indian probables, while the relay team at best can have only six runners (the probables usually number eight) should raise questions about the clearance accorded to such teams by the Government.

Questions are also being asked, not for the first time though, about what could be there in Ukraine for the Indian athletes at this stage of their preparations when, in any case, they are not being entered in established competitions.

In fact, during the May-July trip, the Indian women competed in just one regular competition, the Ukraine Cup in Yalta on May 27 and 28.

“The food is good and the weather is ideal,” said a coach about the choice of Kiev/Yalta for training.

One has heard about the food in the past, without being able to understand why such quality food cannot be served in India. But athletes and coaches have stated that the training facilities in Yalta were no way better than that in India.

As for food, an Indian athlete in an Indian camp, competing in power sports and events (say 100m, discus throw etc), is entitled to a daily allowance of Rs. 350 plus Rs. 100 for supplements and another Rs. 100 for incidental expenses. For non-power sports/events the main allowance will come down to Rs. 250 with the other perks being the same.

On a foreign trip for coaching, an athlete is entitled to 115 dollars per day for board and lodging, out of which 40 dollars would be for food. Normally, two athletes share a room, which will mean there will be 230 dollars for the two to pay for a room and food.

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