A Bubble Shot Through

The hike to Mount Olympus is a fraught one: you have to be one of the gods’ own to avoid the crevasses and avalanches. India’s Olympic dreams seem to have hit a ‘rough’ even as COVID-19 threatens to ruin the Summer Games in Tokyo. With less than 11 weeks remaining for the Games to begin, several top Indian athletes still do not know if they will make the cut. And, with the pandemonium unleashed by the pandemic, many athletes who have qualified are not sure if they will be at the peak of their performance levels. The biggest cause for concern is the safety of athletes and support staff in national camps at the Sports Authority of India centres in Bangalore, Patiala and elsewhere. If the number of Covid positive cases at SAI centres is anything to go by, it seems the well-being of India’s top athletes and coaches is seriously compromised. This, too, reflects India’s creaking healthcare system so ruthlessly exposed by the pandemic.

The dire second wave has hit travel plans of top athletes who are aspiring to qualify for the Olympics. The relay squads—including two of India’s best sprinters, Dutee Chand and Hima Das—could not travel to Poland ­bec­ause the Netherlands has forbidden Indians travelling through Amsterdam. Similarly, badminton players, including 2012 bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, face similar travel bans to Malaysia and Singapore. Their chances of qualifying for Tokyo are dwindling.

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More worryingly, those who have qualified may not be in top physical and mental condition. On April 24, seven members of the Indian women’s hockey team, including captain Rani Rampal and goalkeeper Savita Punia, tested Covid positive at SAI’s Bangalore campus. The players had negative test reports after returning from exposure tournaments in Argentina and Europe, but on being tested on April 24, within a week of their arrival from their respective hometowns, they were found to be positive. Doubts over the strength of the bio-bubble created by SAI grew stronger when South African scientific advisor Wayne Lombard, attached to the women’s hockey team, also tested positive. Lombard has not stepped out of the ‘bubble’ at the Bangalore ­campus ever since he arrived from Johannesburg almost a year ago.

If they are not competing overseas or training abroad, most national and Tokyo-bound athletes stay at SAI centres in Bangalore, Patiala, Sonepat and Lucknow. In recent weeks, 21 campers, including boxers and coaching staff of the women’s boxing coaching camp at IG Stadium, Delhi, tested Covid positive. Another 24 athletes and 12 staff members tested positive at the National Centre of Excellence in Bhopal. Even though SAI is following some stringent testing protocols, it has not been able to keep the virus at bay.

While a concerned SAI has transferred the regional director of Bangalore Ajay Bahl to Delhi’s IG Stadium, insiders say India’s top training centre was openly flouting Covid norms. It is learnt that the ‘bubble’ is insecure, and kitchen and house-keeping staff who work with the teams freely move in and out of the campus. Several SAI administrative staff members, and the chief chef, in Bangalore had Covid. In a clear contravention of Covid protocols, the broadcast media with all their equipment were allowed in by Bahl during a recent visit by sports minister Kiren Rijiju to the Bangalore campus. Bahl had also all­owed construction workers inside the campus to remodel his bungalow.

Senior SAI officials admit that the bio-bubbles at training centres in Bangalore and Patiala are leaky. “If you compare it with the IPL bio bubbles in UAE last year, SAI bubbles are porous,” says a top official who managed the World Cup in Delhi. “During the Shooting World Cup in Delhi in March, overseas shooters were openly breaking bubble protocols and roaming about as tourists. The government probably doesn’t have the wherewithal to manage bubbles and protect India’s top athletes.”

According to SAI records, at least 30 Tokyo-bound athletes have been ­affected by the virus till now. Most are medal hopefuls. Boxers Ashish Kumar, Simranjit Kaur, Lovlina Borgohain and shooters Divyansh Singh Panwar, Rahi Sarnobat, Deepak Kumar and Saurabh Chaudhary are among them. Steeplechaser Avinash Sable, who was also training in Bangalore, tested positive too. The camp atmosphere is so ­insecure that Lovlina was sent home, while London 2012 bronze medallist Mary Kom trained at home. Sources say tests have revealed positive cases in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium complex, apparently a ‘green’ zone. The SAI kept quiet about it.

Alarmingly, wrestlers, boxers and archers who were training or competing overseas, will be vulnerable once they return. The head coach of the Indian boxing team, C.K. Kuttappa, says, “One can’t discount the fear of catching the virus. Plus, this bubble ­atmosphere is mentally challenging. Someone like Vikas Krishan wants to escape this pressure and it has taken a lot of counselling to keep the boxers motivated. It will be disastrous if a boxer gets ill as the Games get closer.”

Dr Sandeep Kumar, who works with sportspersons, says any athlete who gets Covid now will find it difficult to regain 100 per cent fitness before the Games begin on July 23. “The process of peaking goes behind by eight to nine weeks…. So, for boxers and hockey players, who bank on power and stamina, this is not a good time to get the virus,” says Dr Kumar.

Dr Kumar also points out that every Tokyo-bound athlete must be monitored closely. “In Olympics, where the margin for error is virtually nil, every heartbeat and every blood count ­matter. Merely doing RT-PCR tests and saying our athletes are safe is not enough,” he points out.

That the invidious ecosystem bred by Covid has impacted top athletes is abundantly clear. “I don’t seem to be in a mood for anything. Unlike 2016, when we were preparing intensely for Rio, an entire year has gone by and we have not gained anything before Tokyo. It’s extremely depressing,” rues Dutee. With Europe shutting the door on Indian athletes, Athletics Federation of India president Adille Sumariwalla says: “We have never been in such complex scenario before. Keeping athletes motivated and properly engaged will be a big challenge.”