Asiad: Ministry, IOA huddle next week to discuss dip in medals tally, pullouts

Come next week, the Union Sports Ministry will huddle with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and national sports federations on 13 October for running a toothcomb over what is being perceived as an under-achievement at the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games. While India managed to retain their fourth place overall in the final medals tally, what has irked the ministry is that 89 experienced athletes in the contingent of around 500 failed to win a single medal.

Altogether 34 of these experienced athletes, who have competed in multi-disciplinary events before, are under the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) and the government has spent a staggering Rs 27.16 crore on their training and exposure. The overall medals tally, meanwhile, had slipped to 85 from an unprecedented high of 106 in Hangzhou.

There is a lot of buzz about the lack of returns from a number of celebrity athletes with the scanner on shooting, which yielded the second highest number of medals (22) after athletics (29) three years back. Badminton also didn’t match up to the hype despite the marquee names with only a men’s team bronze to show while in athletics, the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) were left red-faced when ace hurdler Jyothi Yarraji and triple jumper Pravin Chitravel, suffered sudden physical setbacks mid-event or during warm-ups and didn’t start for the final.

There were nine athletes, mostly in track and field, who withdrew at the last minute. Jyothi, a silver medallist in 100m hurdles in Hangzhou, was cleared at the eleventh hour to participate in Aichi Nagoya after a ACL injury. However, she experienced acute pain during her pre-race warm-up before the heat and pulled out of the competition – resulting in a Did Not Start (DNS) status.

The case of Avinash Sable, the 3000m steeplechase gold medallist in Hangzhou, was another one which raised eyebrows. Coming out of a major ACL injury and meniscus tear in his right knee last year which sidelined him for 14 months, Sable finished fourth in his signature event in Aichi Nagoya with a season-best time of 8: 21.67 sec. However, he and his team didn’t venture for the 5000m final with a potential risk to aggravate the injury to result in another DNS.

 Summing up Indian shuttlers’ performance, the legendary Prakash Padukone said he found it a little disappointing. ‘’They (shuttlers) have a lot support. I think they need to put in a little more effort. They are doing well. They did win one big tournament, but they need to be consistent. I am not saying that you win all the tournaments you play but at least reach the quarters, semis. You win one tournament and then you lose to someone in the next in first round. I think that should be avoided,’’ he said on the sidelines of an event of his academy.

 Confirming a performance review meeting, a IOA official said on conditions of anonymity: ‘’There will be a review of the performance along with the federations. We will see whether we need to do a policy review.’’ While it’s too premature to comment on what direction schemes like the TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) or TAGG (Target Asian Games Group) will take, while there is a possibility of the government giving more priority to emerging athletes for the future.