Rohtak (Haryana), Jul 23 (PTI) A look at NADA’s list of suspended athletes reveals that wrestling has the second most dope offenders among all sporting disciplines in India.
The number stands at 19, but what is alarming is that five of them are minors.
If the menace of doping has spread to the junior level in wrestling, it’s time that stakeholders wake up and start taking corrective measures before the situation gets worse.
U23 world champion and Olympian Reetika Hooda’s provisional suspension has yet again made doping a hot topic in Indian wrestling.
Indian wrestlers’ performance has been very encouraging in the last few years, especially at the junior level and this advantage must not be lost due to the misadventure of a few.
The Indian teams, especially women, have trumped powerhouses like Japan and the USA to clinch junior team championships, recently.
Wresting’s graph as an Olympic sport has only seen an upward trend despite being mired in controversies intermittently.
Be it World Championships, Asian Games, Asian Championships, or Olympics, Indian wrestlers now enter these prestigious tournaments as medal contenders, if not in all but at least in some categories. It was natural that mat success brought with it money, government jobs, career-changing sponsorships and life-changing cash awards.
All this, has made a huge impact on the psyche of athletes and their parents.
LURE OF QUICK SUCCESS, LACK OF AWARENESS =============================== Most coaches and parents understand that a sport like wrestling requires endurance, strength, technical and tactical acumen and an investment of at least 8-10 years to get success at international level.
But many do not have the virtue of patience or awareness to make right decisions. Add to that financial constraints and it becomes easy to fall to temptations.
“I do not come from a sporting background, so we hardly know what would be the right step,” said the father of a minor, who is now fighting a dope case.
“A reputed wrestler told my daughter that her own performance got better after taking supplements from a local nutrition supplier (name withheld) and that she should also take the same from him. While coach Mandeep Saini had warned us not to take supplements from unauthorised people, we still fell for it,” admitted the man, who runs a business.
Most of the promising wrestlers are sponsored by JSW, OGQ and Reliance. These sports NGOs also guide their wresters on nutrition and provide supplements. Although Reetika got her supplements from Reliance, wrestlers also consume supplements from other brands.
Since these NGOs are investing money on athletes’ training, they will be super cautious and offer only trustworthy brands.
PTI spoke to multiple families in Haryana and found that several ‘so called’ local nutrition suppliers in the state, especially in Rohtak, are pandering to the desires of desperate parents and misguiding them promising enhancement in performance.
“A decent level wrestler requires to spend at least 70,000 a month on diet. We need at least 5-6kg almonds and 7-8kg desi ghee on monthly basis, one-and-half kg paneer and 3kg milk everyday, and add to that figs, chia seeds, sprouts and kiwis. This is the diet of a junior wrestler.
“Not all parents can afford this. This brings these nutrition suppliers in picture. They will ask for their budget and prepare a supplement accordingly. No one knows how they make it after promising performance enhancement, what substance they use and result is before everyone.” When contacted WFI confirmed that unauthorised sale of supplements have come to their knowledge.
“See, these guys sell everything without bills. If these wrestlers can produce bills before NADA, they can send the supplements for tests and if banned substances are found, the wrestler will come out clean.
“But the problem is, they never have the bills. We counsel our wrestlers regularly, advising them not to consume supplements from unauthorised people but monitoring each and every wrestler is not possible,” an official said.
MODUS OPERANDI OF SUPPLEMENT PROVIDERS ============================== It has been learnt that when wrestlers or boxers win medals, the nutrition suppliers chase them at the felicitation functions. They will offer them sponsorships and use their pictures at their shops to influence other athletes.
The names and pictures of successful and medal-winning athletes end up influencing other up-and-coming wresters, boxers, and powerlifters.
Sometimes they will offer support money to ‘akhadas’ which in turn boosts their sales.
Sir Chhotu Ram Stadium in Rohtak is a reputed centre that has churned out international level wrestlers consistently. The biggest name is Rio Games bronze medallist Sakshi Malik.
Ritu Malik, Seema Bisla, Rekha Kadian, Teena Malik, Manisha Bhanwala, Mansi Ahlawat, Reena, Reetika Hooda, Pooja Gahlot, and Neha Sharma are all the products of this centre, which is run by the Haryana government under coach Mandeep Saini.
The centre has a reputation and ever since Reetika’s name has come in the dope net, the mood has been sombre.
“I have never recommended my wrestlers even glucose for energy. You can ask anyone. There are 80 girls here. Once they are out of the centre after finishing training, how do you what are they doing or consuming,” said soft-spoken Mandeep.
World Championship bronze medallist Mansi Ahlawat who trains at the centre said, “Sometimes parents do not listen to coaches. They want quick success but they forget that it’s sport that needs years of toil.” “Mandeep sir is very strict but yet gives us the freedom. It’s great to train with him,” she added.
The centre has about 80 women wresters. The number was around 20 back in 2010. The success of Sakshi Malik brought many wrestlers to the centre. Some parents are even ready to sell their land to make their ward a successful wrestler.
“I am a farmer, I do not have any sporting background. There are not enough jobs also, so if required I am willing to sell my farmland to raise money to manage expenses. It’s not about jobs through sports now, it’s about the prestige of becoming a top-level athlete,” said Gulshan, father of Raveena.
A senior wrestler, who is Asian-level medallist, though warned, “Everybody wants to become Sakshi Malik in one day. It takes 10 years to see results at international level but few people do not have patience. The minors are swayed easily”.
ABSENCE OF NATIONAL CAMPS ALSO A REASON FOR DOPE CASES ========================================== The 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic and the wrestlers’ protest at Jantar Mantar resulted in shutting the national camps for a long time. It also prevented a regular watch on the wrestlers as they kept training at their private training centres.
The wrestlers are tested regularly by NADA at the camp but they resumed only in March this year after a long break.
Wrestling is easily among the top Olympic sports in the country. Since Sushil Kumar won a bronze at 2008 Beijing Games, wrestling has not missed out on giving India a medal at Olympics.
The recent result show that there is huge potential for India to grow into a wrestling powerhouse and it will be shame if the advantageous position is not leveraged. PTI AT AT KHS AT
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