U’khand team recalls shocking nat’l para-athletics meet

Gaurav.Talwar@timesgroup.com
Dehradun: A day after the Centre ordered a probe into the shambolic organization of the now concluded 15th National Para-Athletic Championship, the team of 10 athletes and three officials from Uttarakhand returned on Monday in utter “shock” at the treatment they received at the event that will be “hard to forget”.
For 34-year-old discus thrower Ashish Negi, a call up to the Uttarakhand team for the national para-atheletic meet was a dream come true.But, Negi says his hopes have now been dashed after the treatment meted out to him and his fellow athletes at the national games. “It was an experience that would be hard to forget. We were all in shock when we saw the facilities at the sports complex, where the hostel building was still under construction, and would have been deemed unfit for any other such a mega event,” said Negi.
He told TOI that there weren’t enough bathrooms for the 1,000 para-athletes, organizers said they were prepared for 600, who had turned up from across the country.
Like Negi, other members of the Uttarakhand delegation faced similar problems and have horrific tales to tell. Harish Kumar, who took part in the long jump and 100m race, said we could not sleep at night as the hostel dorms were full of mosquitoes.
Prem Kumar, a para-athlete and secretary of Uttarakhand Paralympics Association, feels facilities were not suited for differently-abled sportspersons, who need special amenities. “There was no arrangement for drinking water and we were forced to buy water bottles. There were no ramps for wheelchair users and the toilets were disabled people friendly. This was the main cause of problem for the participants,” said Prem Kumar.
The Uttarakhand Paralympics team felt that hygiene remained an issue throughout the national games. Besides, the food offered at the championships did not meet the standards expected at such an event.