Bihar athletes competing in the ongoing National Games on Sunday expressed happiness at the professional approach of the ad hoc committee which is running the sport in the state, saying better facilities provided to them have translated to brighter results on the field. (More Sports News)
Last month, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) dissolved the Bihar Olympic Association (BOA) for lack of governance, transparency and administrative inefficiency, and formed a five-member ad hoc committee led by Hockey India secretary general Bholanath Singh.
🐼The ad hoc committee was to take charge of the BOA matters and conduct fresh elections by March 31.
♚Arti Kumari, who led the Bihar women’s Rugby team to the silver medal, recalled how unhappy the team was with the facilities provided by the Bihar Olympic Association for the 2022 National Games in Gujarat.
ﷺ“From getting us an overseas coach to helping us in travel arrangements, from the playing kit to letting us stay back for two days after the final, we have been made to feel comfortable and that helped us deliver our optimum performances,” she said.
She pointed out that the quality of the kit that the Bihar athletes 🤪got for the National Games this time was vastly different from the past.
🐷“We used to get one track suit of poor quality but now we have a full kit bag, complete with playing uniform and a cool track suit and a winter jacket that was so essential here, especially after our late evening matches,” she said.
꧒Wushu player Isha Mishra echoed the same sentiments. She said it was a different experience honing her talent under the watchful eyes of a coach in a training camp organised by the ad hoc committee.
ও“It may seem a small thing to some but the fact that we were wearing international kits and had imported equipment instilled a greater sense of confidence," said the Jianshu exponent.
🤪She said the athletes felt they were being cared for by the officials (ad hoc committee).
🍸“When I won the bronze medal in the last National Games in Goa, there was nobody from the Olympic Association to even see me on the podium. Though I finished fifth here, I was happy that members of the ad hoc committee were constantly in touch with me and the Wushu team, enquiring about our welfare."
ജParis Olympian trap shooter Shreyasi Singh, who herself is a member of the ad hoc committee and also competing at the National Games, highlighted the pride and confidence with which the Bihar contingent is competing.
🐼“It is in placing the athletes at the centre that we are bringing in a more professional culture. The results are already showing,” said Shreyasi, who led Bihar in the Athletes’ Parade at the opening ceremony on January 28.
⛄“Our athletes have already won medals in Rugby and Wushu, but even those who have not got podium finishes feel cared for.”
♍Bihar State Sports Authority Director General S Raveendran said working with the ad hoc committee was a vastly different experience when compared to the earlier regime (BOA).
ꦑ“I can see that they are aligned with the state’s vision of raising the standard of our sport. By looking after the welfare and addressing the needs of the athletes, it has been commendable,” he said.
🦂Raveendran said he was happy that the ad hoc committee ensured that the selection of athletes was done in a fair manner.
