Screen grab Credit: Twitter/ @IExpressSports
The Tokyo Olympics 2020 proved to be a mega success for the Indian wrestling contingent, with Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia winning silver and bronze medals, respectively. With so many young wrestlers in the country getting inspired by the performances of their heroes in Tokyo, it was time for them to make a mark in the under-23 senior national wrestling championships taking place in Amethi.
However, no one would have ever imagined the state and conditions in which the wrestlers will be forced to compete against each other. Express Sports recently posted a video of the venue on social media, which has now brought to light the disastrous arrangements that have been made for the event.
Dirty water, insects and garbage around the wrestling arena
Over hundreds of wrestlers from across the country have travelled to Amethi to take part in the nationals, but the event is being held in extremely torrid conditions with mud, dirt and garbage all around. To add to the unimaginable conditions, the wrestling mats have been laid on an under-construction platform increasing the risk for injuries as well.
The wrestlers are competing on the mat which is surrounded with filthy water and insects all around. “It’s impossible to walk around the place, it’s so dirty. There are flies and mosquitoes everywhere, we are worried we’ll contract some disease,” a coach said while reflecting on the horrible conditions, as quoted by Express Sports.
All our preparations got ruined because of the rain: Vinod Tomar
The assistant secretary of Wrestling Federation of India, Vinod Tomar, admitted that the conditions and facilities are not up to the mark of a national event. However, he blamed the continuous rain in Amethi over the last few days for spoiling all their arrangements.
“The places to eat and sleep are okay but since it has been raining almost non-stop since Wednesday morning, all facilities in the competition area got disturbed. It’s an air-conditioned, indoor hall and the facilities would have been perfect if it had not rained. All our preparations got ruined because of the rain,” Tomar said.
No matter if the excuses are valid or not, one can certainly say that the conditions in Amethi for a senior national championships are absolutely unacceptable. Fans would only hope that national federations start paying more attention to the finer details and plan in better way to avoid these kind of circumstances in future.