BENGALURU: The sight of junior
India hockey
players jostling for space in a broken plastic tank for a session of
ice bath
therapy at the
Sports Authority of India
(SAI), South Centre here could soon be a thing of the past with Union Sports minister
Vijay Goel ordering an inquiry into the matter on Monday.
Reacting to the report of the campers' plight in TOI, a top sports ministry official on Monday said a probe has been ordered into the matter and that SAI has been asked for an explanation. "The ministry has ordered an inquiry. After assuming charge as the sports minister during his visits to different SAI centres in the country, Goel had emphasised the need to upgrade SAI centres to provide the best facilities to the players practising or getting trained at SAI centres across India," a sports ministry official was quoted as saying by a news agency.
Junior India hockey players, who have been at the national camp in SAI since last month have been using the plastic water tank for an ice bath. Sports medicine experts were of the view that it was not only unhygienic but also less effective. "The players also risked infection," they said.