New Delhi: The government has issued directions to ensure that athletes get timely supplements and consistently high quality food during their preparations for Rio Olympics, 2016. The directions were given by the Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports, Sarbananda Sonowal after his surprise visit to the Sports authority of India’s Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports (NSNIS), Patiala on Monday to take stock of the facilities being provided to the athletes preparing for the Rio Olympics 2016. 

The Minister directed that the Athletics Federation of India be contacted and food supplements be provided to Track and Field athletes within the next 2 days, keeping in view the international practice and after ensuring that the supplements are free of dope.

During his day-long visit, the minister went to the hostels, training arenas, mess, recovery centre and various departments of sports sciences to have a firsthand knowledge of the facilities being provided to the campers. He interacted with the campers, coaches and sports scientists etc. to receive their feedback on the facilities being provided and further improvement, if needed.

The minister also met junior campers as well in the context of the Ministry’s policy to prepare for Tokyo Olympics, 2020 from now itself. He directed that an indoor track at the Institute be laid at the earliest to provide better training facilities to campers, keeping in mind the challenges posed by extreme cold and hot weather conditions. Secretary (Sports), Rajiv Yadav accompanied him on the visit.

It may be recalled that the government is closely monitoring the preparations for Rio Olympics, 2016 and is providing all possible assistance to athletes to ensure that their training progresses smoothly. Prime Minister himself has been taking keen interest in the preparations for Rio Olympics, 2016 to ensure that the Country’s athletes give their best possible performance and achieve maximum number of medals.
The government has been supporting preparations for Rio and Tokyo Olympics under its scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations and the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme under the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF).