Operation Olympia's Elite Academy for athletics shut in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC) has closed the Elite Academy for athletics which was launched with much fanfare by the state government under the Operation Olympia scheme.
The KSSC’s decision has put at least half-a-dozen athletes in the lurch and it comes at a time when the top athletes in the country are sweating it out to make it to the delayed Tokyo Olympics which is just six months away.Moreover, Thiruvananthapuram is set to host back to back coveted Indian grand prix in February on 12 and 19 which would get the Kerala athletes the much wanted national-level competitions along with national campers.
The 2018 Jakarta Asiad medallist Anu Raghavan (women’s 400m hurdles), international medallist Sheena NV (women’s triple jump), SAF medallist Maymon Poulose (men’s hurdles), talented junior athlete Aparna Roy (hurdle), Aswin KP (sprinter), Mohammed Lazan (hurdler), Amish Mohan (400m) and sprinter Jothiprakash were part of the Elite Academy based at LNCPE, Kariyavattom. Jumper Sandra Babu is the latest entry to the academy.
Apart from expert training and international exposure, the offer to elite trainees included a kit worth Rs 20,000, Rs 450 as food supplements, Rs 10,000 as allowance and free accommodation at elite hostel at SAI centre at LNCPE, here.
All these athletes were training under KSSC’s elite coach PB Jaikumar except Sandra, who is coached by renowned jumps coach TP Ouseph.
“We have shut the elite academy as most of them have jobs and are secure. They can train on their own now,” was the explanation given by Shaji P Mohammed, assistant technical officer (ATO) of KSSC, as the reason for the closure.
However, among the Elite Academy athletes only Anu, Sheena and Aswin hold state government jobs while
Maymon works with the Indian Navy. The rest are students, who are staying far away from home, and are now in a quandary. Aparna, a degree student of Mar Ivanios College here hails from Pulloorampara in Kozhikode while Sandra Babu, a student of MA College, Kothamangalam hails from Kelamangalam in Kannur.
Both Aparna and Sandra have been touted as future Olympic prospects.
TOI’s attempt to elicit a response from EP Jayarajan, minister for sports and youth affairs, Olympian Mercy Kuttan and S Gopakumaran Nair, president and secretary of KSSC, went in vain.