National, September 29: With the Asian Games under way, the performance science team at the Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) is focused on keeping its athletes healthy, well fuelled and inside their weight categories through the competition, says Dr Samuel Pullinger, the institute’s head of performance science.
The IIS-supported athletes at the Games include Praveen Chithravel, Parul Chaudhary, Gulveer Singh, Antim Panghal, Rohit Yadav and Avinash Sable. The team’s work covers recovery, nutrition, weight management, injury prevention and mental readiness.
Gulveer, Parul and Rohit have already won medals in Aichi-Nagoya. Read about India’s medals on Monday.
Different routes to the Games
Some athletes trained with their federations in the build-up, while others followed plans drawn up with their own coaches and performance teams.
“The preparation has varied significantly across different athletes and sports. Some athletes have been based with their respective federations, while others have only joined their federations much later. As a result, the support structure and system have differed depending on the individual,” Pullinger said.
That meant working with athletes in different places, often from a distance. “We have therefore tried to provide as much support as possible, including remotely, to ensure every athlete receives the assistance they need,” he added.
The coach’s plan comes first
Now that the athletes are competing, the job is to keep them on the plan their coaches set while they deal with the physical and mental load of a multi-sport event.
“In general, readiness is based around the training programme developed by the coaches. Every coach creates a training plan designed to ensure the athlete peaks at a specific point in the year,” Pullinger said.
Food first, and no late weight cuts
Nutrition matters most for the combat sport athletes, who need to perform well and still make weight. The IIS approach is to meet those needs through food.
“Our approach is nutrition-first, or more specifically, food-first. We focus on ensuring that athletes meet their energy and nutritional requirements primarily through food,” he said.
Weight for the combat athletes is being checked closely through the Games. “The aim is to ensure they do not arrive at the Asian Games weigh-in needing to lose one, two or three kilograms at the last minute, as has often happened previously. By managing this process scientifically, we can maximise both energy availability and performance.”
The athlete stays in charge
The team also looks at whether athletes are mentally ready for a major international event, and the help is shaped around each person.
“One of the most important things to understand about the approach of the sports psychology team we work with is that responsibility and dependency remain with the athlete,” Pullinger said.
That support can mean anything from handling anxiety and setting goals to helping athletes take more ownership of their performance. There is no fixed programme.
‘Do not regret anything’
Pullinger’s message to the athletes is to trust their preparation and commit fully when their event comes.
“However, the most important thing I always tell athletes is: go there and do not regret anything,” he said. “They need to give 100%, do the things they normally do and make sure they have prepared themselves properly.”
