Having decided not to represent another state, Incheon Asian Games Bronze winner in 400 mts event M.R. Poovamma has said she hoped the Karnataka government would make available all facilities required for the athletes representing the state.
In an informal chat with presspersons here on Monday, Mr. Poovamma retracted from her earlier statement of representing another state for various reasons, including non-availability of facilities and lesser cash prize to winters of national and international events. She hoped that her demand for a personal coach, nutrition expert, physiotherapist and physician would be met by the government to improve the performance considerably.
If not personal coach and other facilities, the least the government could do is to send promising athletes for training abroad, in institutes of international repute, Mr. Poovamma said. There are some special institutes in the United States and training for a couple of months would help athletes to improve the performance, she said.
In Mangaluru on a two-week leave from the Thiruvananthapuram training camp, Ms. Poovamma said she is preparing hard for the Rio Olympics 2016. While her best record in the 400 mt event has been 51.73 seconds, she is aiming at beating the international record of 48.06 seconds. Training in India should start at very early age, line in the West, to bring out the best of the talent, she felt.
Regarding the facilities for athletes in Mangaluru, Ms. Poovamma said the recently laid synthetic track at Mangala Stadium is a good move. However, the track gets damaged by regular walkers and joggers. “They even disturb out practice sessions,” she lamented.
To a question, she said the Athletics Federation of India has planned athletics league on the lines of IPL and Kabaddi leagues, to popularize athletics. But the dates are yet to be finalized, she added.
