File photo of Gagan Narang
Gagan Narang, Olympic bronze medal-winning shooter and chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent at Paris 2024, said the sports science back-up provided to the country’s athletes in this Games is unprecedented.
Narang said the sports science team, under the leadership of renowned sports injury expert Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, is a never-before support for the Indian athletes.
“Dr. Pardiwala has worked with a lot of elite athletes previously, so he understands what is required from their perspective. We have physiotherapists, masseurs and a sleep expert. We’ve just installed our sleep pods for someone who is not able to sleep properly or comfortably. We have a nutritionist. So, this is unprecedented and I’m very happy that we’re able to provide these to our athletes,” Narang told reporters here on Thursday.
“Athletes have been using the medical unit quite frequently and are quite satisfied with it. The good part about this is that they can just come down from their building and go to the medical room and get things done instead of going to the main polyclinic.”
Change in mindset
Narang pointed out a change in mindset of the Indian athletes. “Earlier, people wanted to participate, but now they’re here to win. They want to come here and perform. That’s the change in mindset of the athletes. I’m happy that in terms of strength we are equal to that of China with the same number of athletes.”
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is working to sort out some issues, said Narang.
“There are a few leading issues that we are trying to mitigate with the organising committee and they promised that these issues will be sorted out very soon. I would not like to discuss (those) to keep the environment positive for all of us and the team because everyone reads what we write,” he said.
Athletes have been using the medical unit quite frequently and are quite satisfied with it
