Boria Majumdar in Paris
Just hours before the closing ceremony of Paris 2024, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) issued the following statement:
“The Indian Olympic Association President Dr PT Usha today clarified that the responsibility of weight management of athletes in sports like wrestling, weightlifting, boxing and judo is that of each athlete and his or her coach and NOT that of the IOA-appointed Chief Medical Officer Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala and his team.
Dr. Usha said that each Indian athlete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in such sport had his or her own support team. These support teams have been working with the athletes over so many years.
The IOA appointed a medical team a couple of months ago, primarily as a team that would assist in the recovery and injury management of athletes during and after their competition. This team was also designed to support athletes who did not have their own team of nutritionists and physiotherapists.
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🚨 All submissions done in Vinesh Phogat case!
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Dr. Usha said that the hate directed at the IOA medical team, especially Dr. Pardiwala, is unacceptable and worthy of condemnation. She hoped that those rushing to judge the IOA medical team would consider all facts before arriving at any conclusions.”
This statement has resulted in a lot of interesting responses on social media. While one senior journalist has accused the IOA of throwing Vinesh Phogat under the bus, others have questioned the timing of this statement.
A deep dive, however, reveals that it isn’t something that was unexpected. But it is also pertinent to understand why the hate was being directed at Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala. Firstly, Dr Pardiwala is indeed one of the best orthopaedic surgeons India has seen. Ask Mirabai Chanu or a number of our leading cricketers, and you will know. But that doesn’t make him a sports scientist or nutritionist. But the Indian contingent here fielded Dr Pardiwala in front of the media soon after Vinesh’s disqualification.
Time and again, his name was mentioned in the media to prove that all was done to ensure Vinesh made the cut. As a result, it is natural that the fan back home sees him as someone who failed Vinesh and India. While that’s not the case, this issue yet again throws up the issue of accountability. Why haven’t we heard from Vinesh’s coach yet? Why haven’t we heard from the nutritionist and sports science team that accompanied her?
While Viren Rasquinha, who has helped put this team together, issued a personal statement, it is essential we get the version of the coach and the support team. They are the ones who worked on Vinesh, and they are the ones who need to tell us what transpired. Dr Pardiwala was the medical head of the contingent, and in trying to shield the ones involved, he has become an object of hate.
While we ask these questions of Vinesh’s team, we must ask the same of Antim Panghal’s support staff as well. Why was she lethargic, and who messed up her weight here in Paris, resulting in India losing a likely medal?
While these coaches and support teams are paid top dollar, we need to demand accountability from them for their actions. Others can’t face the blame, and the athlete isn’t the one responsible here. While Vinesh is at least a senior athlete, Antim isn’t yet 20, and it is her team that’s responsible for what happened in Paris.
Yet again, I say it – this was a collective failure. The coach and support team are as much responsible, and need to take accountability. Rasquinha may have put together the team, but it is they that were on ground when it happened, and they must be asked the direct questions. The truth is India lost out, and we can’t just hide the issue under the covers by blaming Dr Pardiwala, who isn’t responsible. Nor is Rasquinha.
It is essential that this issue is dealt with properly, for in the future, we don’t want another Vinesh or Antim-like fiasco to happen and harm our prospects at events like the Olympics.
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