The Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) has restricted anyone above 65 to train in the national camps. The new guidelines come as bad news for the Indian Greco-Roman team whose foreign coach Temo Kazarshvili who may not be involved in training when wrestlers return to SAI Centre in Sonepat.
SAI has instructed the national federations including Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to “ensure that the regulations by Ministry of Home Affairs are followed with resuming activities,” Hindustan Times reported.
Kazarshvili had returned to Georgia in March after attending the training camp in Azarbaijan. The decisions have forced the federations to alter their training plans for elite athletes. “Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women, and children below the age of 10 years shall stay at home, except for essential and health purposes,” says the MHA guideline issued on May 17, reported HT.
India’s performance under Kazarishvili
The Georgian coach joined the Greco-Roman side in 2018. Kazarishvili is himself the former world champion (1982) and has been instrumental in bringing India’s Greco wrestling to the international level. It is under him that India gave its best-ever performance at the continental tournament in 2020 winning five medals including Sunil Kumar’s gold medal which ended the 27-year-old drought.
Also, ever since his association with WFI, for the first time two Indian wrestlers have entered the top 10 in United World Wrestling’s (UWW) Rankings. While Ashu in ranked seventh in the 67kg division, Sunil is amongst the top seeds (4th) in 87kg weight class
No camp for Wrestlers amid COVID-19
As of now the national camp stands deferred indefinitely as WFI finds the SAI’s training guidelines too restrictive. Vinod Tomar, WFI assistant secretary says “with so many limitations, there is no point in resuming the training the camp for now”. “The SOP rules for wrestling say, after each training session the mats have to be sanitised. Also, wrestlers can only train with dummies and sparring is banned. Moreover, there are too many restrictions on gym activities as well. We should wait for things to get better and until SAI issues new guidelines with fewer restrictions,” he added.
Both Sonepat and Lucknow camps were suspended on March 25 after India entered a nationwide lockdown in wake of coronavirus pandemic. Wrestlers and coaches alike have been sceptical over the return to the camp given the training SOPs issued by SAI. World medallist Pooja Dhanda opines that without sparring there is no wrestling, so, therefore, there is no point in holding the camp.
