India need taller rowers, says coach

HYDERABAD: Colourful tents, a pleasant breeze, some patches of sand and a smell so typical of a sea beach. It’s a mela at the Husain Sagar Lake, the venue for rowing in the 32nd National Games in Hyderabad.
The inhabitants have preferred to stay away from majority of the Games venues. But this Necklace Road destination has drawn some curious onlookers, most of them preferring their brakes than their accelerators to make a brief halt while speeding down.
“I am twenty-five.� Coming from Vulpe Nicolae that was hard to believe. The Rumanian coach of the Indian rowing team, though energetic than most, looked in his fifties. “You reverse fifty-two,� that’s my age, he added with a wink. “Right selection is the key to success,� he uttered in between straining his vocal chords to encourage his disciples in the 500m heats. “I have passed a model selection system to the federation,� he informed. “Height has to be the minimum criteria. There’s no place for boys below 185cms and girls below 155cms.� And it’s hard to believe that in the vast country, one cannot find them.
“Boys are good, but they have to better. I am not satisfied yet with the selection of the girls. Right now, anyone who comes to a club is welcome. It cannot be that way. A minimum of four girls and ten boys can help India achieve new heights.� Nicolae is presently training Andhra rowers and will stay here for another one and a half months. What after that? “It’s for the federation to decide. But a camp has to go on for long, a minimum of eleven months. Short-term camps do not serve any purpose,� he maintained.