The Hindu : Sport : SAI move puts SAAP in a fix

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 26, 2005

Sport

Sport - Sports : General

SAI move puts SAAP in a fix

V.V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD: The Sports Authority of India has withdrawn its coaches who were attached to various academies and training centres run by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, thereby leaving the latter in a fix just as the sports calendar is scheduled to commence within a few weeks.

According to a circular issued in the first week of this month, SAI, as part of it's uniform policy throughout the country, has now made available only a panel of 15 coaches to the State Government. Though no official reason has been given for the decision, the SAAP's senior officials were informed in private that it was primarily to boost the performance levels of their own Sports Training Centres.

Effectively this means that SAAP will have to reshuffle it's own coaches as a makeshift arrangement. But, within a few weeks, it will be left with no option but to recruit at least 40 coaches only to ensure that the SAAP Academies in 29 disciplines all over the State are able to function efficiently.

"The worst-affected discipline is aquatics as there is no qualified SAAP coach and we have to appoint someone immediately to ensure a continuity in it's functioning in Vizag," says a senior SAAP official.

The break-up of SAI STCs is as follows: Vizag - weightlifting (girls), Eluru (weightlifting (boys). Saroornagar - gymnastics, kabaddi, archery, judo, boxing. Sec'bad - athletics, badminton, hockey (boys and girls). Kurnool - football and taekwondo. Eluru - hockey and athletics (both day boarders). Vizag - volleyball (boys & girls), badminton. Medak - boxing and athletics.

Unless, the top brass of SAAP comes with up viable alternative measures, the training system in the State is bound to get a jolt for the next few months.

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