With no choice left, Sushil decides to take national team physio to London on his expense

With no choice left, India’s ace grappler Sushil Kumar has decided to take national team physio on his expense after IOA failed to attach one to the squad, says a report in Hindustan Times, adding that the man chosen to hold the Tri-colour aloft at the London Olympic Games opening ceremony is also the one who will be shelling out money from his pocket to pay his physiotherapist.

“Bizarre but true, Sushil Kumar, the flag-bearer, is left with no choice but to pay for national team physiotherapist Arvinderpal Singh’s ticket to London and also take care of his boarding and lodging because the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) feel officials and managers are more important than masseurs and physios. The WFI has given accreditation to three coaches and a manager to accompany the fivemember squad, while the person who facilitates the quick recovery of grapplers in between bouts by helping them overcome niggles and sprains, has been ignored,” says the report.

“When I came to know that the IOA had not included Arvinderpal for London, I decided I would bear his expenses. A physio is an important part of the support system in our game. The extremely competitive nature of our sport and the fact that we have to fight four to six bouts in a day makes it imperative that we have a fulltime physio. Without him, we can never be at our best,” said Sushil,

Meanwhile according to another HT report, the Indian Olympic Association cleared London-based physio Patrick Kenny for archers, shooters and others. IOA acting president, VK Malhotra, said since there was pressure from the athletes, the IOA thought it would be better for the contingent to have one more physio. “Since there are a few physios for the contingent, we felt another was not needed. But since some individual athletes wanted one, we have decided to give daily passes to Kenny during the Games,” said Malhotra.

According to a report in DNA, of the 23 women in the 81-member Indian contingent, Saina Nehwal, Deepika Kumari and Mary Kom stand a better chance of adding an Olympic medal to their kitty. And they have records, odds and form to back them.

High on confidence after bagging back-to-back titles in Thailand and Indonesia, there’s no stopping Saina. The only seeded Indian shuttler at the London Games, Saina is all set to avenge her quarterfinal loss at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Given her recent performances, Saina definitely has the potential to go all the way this time around. Her coach, Pullela Gopichand, seconds this. “Going by the way she has played in the last few tournaments, I think there is a reason to be optimistic. But it’s important that how she performs on that day is going to be very critical,” he says.