Weightlifters Mirabai Chanu and P Gururaj delivered India’s first gold and silver medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Thursday and then quickly highlighted the apathy of the system towards the sport when both admitted that they could not get any support from the physio during their competitions.
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Mirabai Chanu (48kg) smashed snatch, clean and jerk and the overall Games records to claim India’s first gold of the ongoing edition, while P Gururaja (56kg) overcame a few nervy minutes to clinch a silver in the men’s competition.
The colour of their medals might have been different but one thing common to their performances was that neither of them had a physio by their side to take care of their aches and niggles during a demanding day, PTI reported.
“I don’t have a physio with me here in the competition. He was not allowed here, I did not get enough treatment coming into the competition. There is nobody, we did tell officials but nothing happened,” Chanu said after her record-breaking gold-winning performance that earned her a massive ovation from the fans here.
“I had requested that my physio be allowed but he has not been allowed. But we are helping each other and managing so far,” she added with a smile.
Weightlifting Federation of India has sent Aakrant Saxena with the team but due to delay in his accreditation application he cannot stay in the Games Village or be present at the competition venue. He can only visit the lifters in the Games Village or training venue during the day.
Gururaja, the soft-spoken wannabe-wrestler-turned-weightlifter from Karnataka, also spoke about the problems he faced.
“I’ve sustained multiple injuries. My physio is not here, so I haven’t been able to get the treatment that I need for my knee and sciatic nerve,” he said.
Sciatic nerve begins in the lower back and runs through to the lower limb, making it the longest and widest single nerve in the human body.
Despite repeated attempts, the Indian Chef-de-Mission Vikram Sisodia was unavailable for comment on the matter.
The size of the contingent was a massive issue prior to the Games after the Sports Ministry ordered that the number of officials should not be more than 33 per cent of the number of athletes.
As a result, several athletes had complained about their preferred support staff not making the official contingent.
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