NEOG: Tripura athletes left ‘cold’ in more ways than one, but no one cares

Guwahati: How long can Tripura rest on the laurels of tennis star Somdev Devvarman or Olympian gymnast Dipa Karmakar?

Talk sports in the Northeast, and of course, there is Manipur, and there is everyone else. From the Olympics to Asian Games to National Games to even the recently-concluded North East Olympic Games, Manipur is to Indian sports what Avengers are to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Sure, Assam has performed well in recent times, Nagaland and Meghalaya are either struggling or improving, depending on how you see it, and Arunachal sees periodic but important success in sports. Sikkim does decently, at least in football and more recently cricket, and Mizoram has its share of football stars. And oh, there is always Jeremy Lalrinnunga.

Then, there is Tripura, still expecting to be seen as a sporting state because six years ago gymnast Deepa Karmakar made a name for herself and India at the Rio Olympics.

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Not even a month has passed since the forgettable show at the 36th National Games in Gujarat, where the state finished a distant 25th with mere three medals (2 gold & 1 bronze). Those who thought things would improve at a ‘lower’ level were about to be disappointed.

Tripura followed it up with an even more deplorable performance at the just-concluded second North East Olympic Games in Shillong, where the contingent ended at the penultimate place, thanks to a superior gold count over bottom-placed Sikkim.

Among the eight states that celebrated the spirit of oneness and brotherhood in the region, amid fierce on-field competition across 18 disciplines in the past week, Tripura ended with 42 medals, eight less than Sikkim, but somehow managed to hold on to the 7th spot, thanks to an additional gold in comparison to Sikkim’s three yellow metals.

Besides the four golds, Tripura’s tally was boosted by 11 silver and 27 bronze medals.

The Games could not have started on a more ominous note for Tripura. The football teams (both men and women) pulled out of the tournament before it even kicked off and it was mostly downhill from there for the state: Tripura athletes hardly made their presence felt barring two golds each in athletics and judo events.

But had the efforts been found lacking at just the players’ level, one may have accepted fate and simply acknowledged the superiority of other states’ athletes. Based on our observation, the players are the least of the worry.

In some ways, Tripura footballers who did not participate were spared the rather unpleasant event that was the opening ceremony. Every other state came dressed like it was a cold November evening. The point being, other teams knew it would be cold on a November evening in Shillong. Someone did not give this memo to those in charge of Tripura, because the athletes, lo and behold, walked out in t-shirts. At 12 degrees. On a windy evening. And not by choice.

As the ceremony progressed with the rest of the evening’s performances, this correspondent had little to do except stroll around the venue, only to spot Tripura athletes braving the chill while eagerly waiting to return to their respective accommodation, or the dinner area in the indoor hall, whichever arrived earlier!

Anywhere but here, they seem to be saying.

After a customary exchange of greetings and introduction with a couple of athletes dressed in sweatshirts provided by private sponsors of their respective sports disciplines, one, athlete, braving the cold rubbing her hands, quipped: “Yeh har bar ki kahani hai jab Tripura ko represent karne jate hai (This is something you face every time you represent Tripura) !”

Any particular reason?

“You can ask any athlete from any sport representing Tripura. Most of the federations did not even want to send their players. We had to fight before reaching here. Sports is a total mess in the state. If only tall claims could produce world class athletes!” came up a reply from another athlete.

So where’s the rest of your contingent?

“They are on the opposite side. We are waiting for the event to get over quickly. It is getting unbearable here in this cold, with the breeze making it harsher,” said the athletes as we parted ways for the evening.

As competitions unfolded the following morning, this correspondent was in the audience at the badminton hall, where a handful of Tripura shuttlers dressed in oversized t-shirts were warming the benches after suffering an early exit.

EastMojo then headed to the other venues where numerous athletes from the state had similar complaints. Soon, bickering turned into official complaints, with seasoned boxer Karan Rupini lashing out at the poor infrastructure back home for his loss in the quarterfinals of men’s 51kg weight division.

Soon, the blame game started and nearly all Tripura athletes and coaches pointed their fingers at one person, Rupak Debroy, the secretary general of the Tripura Olympic Association, for the mess in the state’s sports culture.

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All but boxers in Tripura’s boxing contingent

Karan, who returned with a bronze from Gujarat, claimed that most members of the state’s boxing contingent are either novices or Wushu athletes. He revealed that even the coaches associated with the boxing team are physical education teachers and have no relation with the sport.

“Sports in Tripura is going from bad to worse each day. No one values sports in the state. In the boxing contingent, there are a few Wushu athletes and kickboxers among the women, and among the men, a lot of them came here with three-four days of training. I trained one of them, and another athlete is a boxer from the state police. But that’s not their fault. Where do they go? Where are the facilities in Tripura?”

“Even the coaches are physical education teachers, they are mostly associated with political parties, and have come here for kits. The manager is pretty supportive for the boxers, he fought on behalf of the athletes but to no avail,” he added.

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Karan, who was raised in the national capital thanks to his father’s job in a private company before moving back to represent his native state, said his performances dipped ever since he decided to return to Tripura.

“Mujhe khud bhi nehi pata ki mein khelne jaa raha hoon (I don’t even know whether I’m going to participate). As a result you’re not even fully prepared for any big ticket events, and you can see my performance here,” he said.

“Stadiums, equipment, and boxing rings are available in Tripura, but the problem is all these facilities are out of the athlete’s reach, and are getting rusty. There are no coaches to train the athletes. Even if any athlete wants to get access to any of these facilities, they cannot because those are locked. There is no maintenance either, due to which these facilities are now fully covered by tall grass,” he described.

“Most boxers stay in remote villages, so they don’t come often. I tried my luck a couple of times, but you can’t even reach the stadium’s gate because of the grass and threats of snakes and other reptiles. I use the outside facility at the Dasarath Deb State Sports Complex for running and light training. The football ground there is a good one, but for other sports, it is beyond reach,” he continued.

While neighbouring states like Assam arranged for air travel besides promising medal winners of the National Games with jobs, Karan said his father had to borrow money from his friends to fund his son’s travel to Gujarat.

“When I went to Gujarat, my father had to borrow money from his friends to fund my travel and other expenses. Similarly, all the other athletes had to manage on their own. There is hardly any support. Wherever we go for competitions, we have to arrange our own travel (and food and stay too, in case it’s not being sponsored by the hosts). No one cares in Tripura even if you return with a medal,” he said.

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“Jobs are a distant dream for athletes in Tripura, the least they can arrange is kits, equipment, coaches and better facilities,” he added.

Gearing up for the senior national championships in Rohtak from December 26, Karan said lack of competition in his state meant he could land up in the Haryana town without a trial.

“You are speaking of trials. Where are the boxers in Tripura? I don’t want to blame my state but at the same time, I want to humbly request the administrators and government to improve the facilities and rope in full time coaches,” he said.

In August this year, the state’s sports minister Sushanta Chowdhury had assured of massive infrastructural development to nurture sports culture, and prevent the youth from getting addicted to drugs.

Maybe Chowdhury could start with buying the correct attire for athletes, a stadium that is not locked and consider paying for athletes’ travel?

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