IOA finally clears physio Patrick Kenny for Games

New Delhi, July 19 – Under pressure from the athletes, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Thursday finally cleared the way for England-based physio Patrick Kenny to be part of the Olympic contingent for the London Games.

IOA president Vijay Kumar Malhotra told IANS that Kenny will be given daily passes during the Games.

“We already have three physios. There was no need for another physio to be part of the contingent. But since there was a huge request from individual athletes, we decided to give daily passes to Kenny during the Games,” said Malhotra, who is also the president of Archery Association of India (AAI).

Beijing Games bronze medallist Sushil Kumar, female wrestler Geeta Phogat, shooter Ronjan Sodhi and the women’s archery team had requested the IOA to include Kenny in the team. But the IOA was unwilling to include the physio as they already had three in their contingent.

But finally the IOA had to accommodate Kenny after pressure from the athletes.

Chief wrestling coach Yashvir Singh was happy that the wrestlers can finally avail the services of the physio.

“Kenny is one of the best physios. He had worked with the wrestling team during the camp at Colorado Springs in the US. The wrestlers are comfortable working with him,” he said.