“Our preparations for Paris are better than Tokyo” - Coach Pranmika Bora confident of Indian boxers’ Germany-based training ahead of Olympics
A couple of months before the Sydney Olympics in the year 2000, then Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief Suresh Kalmadi had announced a two-month camp for athletes representing the nation at the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’.
After the entire Indian contingent returned home with just a single bronze medal – courtesy iconic weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari – the IOA chief declared that it was a good “learning experience” for the players.
This episode encapsulated all that was wrong with Indian sports. A brief national camp instead of a proper four-year cycle was considered sufficient, with players travelling to the Olympics for the experience while other nations strived for glory.
Inept officialdom, poor preparations, low-quality facilities and zero planning were the depressing hallmarks of Indian sports.
The few who managed to rise to the top in their respective disciplines did it despite the system, not because of it. Their most formidable opponents were not those competing against them in the field, but the various hurdles they had to fight outside the confines of the sports arena.
The legendary Milkha Singh and the iconic Indian football team of the 1950s – which reached the semifinals of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics – had to make do with sub-standard shoes and a diet of dal roti at the national camps.
As a result, successes were few and far between. A Leander Paes winning bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics - giving a mighty scare to the great Andre Agassi along the way - or a PT Usha or Milkha Singh missing out on medals by the narrowest of margins, gifting an entire generation a lifetime of anguish in the process, were some of thesr rare successes.
Different approach for Paris Olympics
But the situation is vastly different today, although much more needs to be done. Training systems and coaching standards have improved by leaps and bounds while planning and preparation for major events such as the Olympics and Asian Games have become more methodical.
This has been evident in the run-up to the 2024 Olympic Games with Indian players traveling to destinations across the world to avail the best of training.
The IOA had identified Germany as the perfect location to enable Indians to adjust to European climes a couple of weeks ahead of the Paris Games.
As the Paris Olympics draws nearer, a bunch of Indian sportspersons across various disciplines have converged at the remote German town of Saarbrücken for the final stages of their preparation for the quadrennial multi-sport extravaganza.
With an abundance of top-class sports facilities, Saarbrücken was chosen by several national sports federations as the perfect location to prepare for Paris. Several members from the boxing, athletics, table tennis and badminton squads are gearing up for the 2024 Olympics in the German city.
Bonding in foreign climes
Half a world away from home, the athletes have developed a strong bond as they gear up to ensure the Tricolour flies high at the 'greatest show on earth'.
Totally isolated from the rest of the world, most of their day is packed with heavy duty training sessions.
During the rare breaks in the intense training sessions, the Indians get together in their free time to unwind with fellow compatriots.
The stint in Germany has been especially beneficial for the boxing contingent.
“We have been able to focus completely on our training sessions for the last few weeks since we have isolated ourselves from the rest of the world and there are no distractions. Everyone is totally cutoff from social media. Our boxers have been absent from social media sine since the last one month,” India women’s boxing coach Pranamika Bora told Sportskeeda from Germany.
“We indulge in occasional tours outside or activities inside the complex as recreation. Otherwise the entire focus in on training,” she added.
“We also have bonding sessions to improve team spirit. Even those from individual sports such as boxers participate in these sessions.”
Confident of Olympic glory
Although the Olympic qualifying campaign has been disappointing for Indian boxers, with only two qualifications from among the men, Borah is confident of a satisfactory medal haul from her wards.
While preparations during the last Olympic cycle was severely disrupted due to Covid-19 pandemic, the coach is much happier ahead of the Paris Games.
“The boxers are getting good sparring partners here. in fact, the quality of sparring partners is better than what we get in India. In India boxers are sometimes compelled to spar with partners from other weight categories due to the paucity of good sparring partners. But here we have been training with good partners in every category,” Bora said.
“Our preparations for the Paris Olympics are better than Tokyo. The preparations for the last Olympics were badly affected by the Covid-19. That was major hurdle, especially for our boxers. But this time that problem is not there. Training better than what we had before going to Tokyo,” she added.
“The weather in Germany is almost similar to that in France. That is why we chose this location. Apart from boxers we also have some athletes with us including Neeraj Chopra. There also some players from our Indian table tennis and badminton squads. Some German teams are also here.”
SAI goes the extra mile
Indians competing in international tournaments abroad often face the problem of getting proper food, which affects their performances. But that problem has been taken care of for Indian athletes going to the Paris Olympics as the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has sent over cooking staff from NIS, Patiala along with select food items generally not available outside India.
“We have taken cooks from NIS Patiala so we can have Indian food. They make food for the entire contingent. We have also taken some food items and ration from India, specially those items not available abroad,” Bora informed.
This is certainly a welcome change in approach by the powers that be of Indian sports. Perhaps they have learned a thing from the superpowers of global sports. But will this boost India’s fortunes at the Olympics? Only time will tell.