Mumbai:
Synchronised swimmers Avanti and Anushka are part of the India squad for the Commonwealth Games. In January, they were invited to participate in long, intensive camps under Japanese Coach Haruka Fujishima.
Now, barely two months to the Games, the 7-member team has been split up without their knowledge and three members sent to the United States for further training. This without any official selection.
Even more perplexing: One member's mother Bharati Dave, who is a support staff for the team, has accompanied her daughter to the US as the team's coach.
"The same thing happened in the Asian Games. They just randomly selected two girls without saying why. They always do it. There is no reason given. It's very demoralizing," said Avanti Merchant, Swimmer.
The Sports Authority of India sent them a letter as an explanation. In it, the Coach Fujishima has recommended only three of the seven girls for the competition category.
She recommends the remaining four including Avanti and Anushka only for the opening ceremony performance.
But the girls show us another letter sent by Coach Fujishima to the Grievance Cell of the Commonwealth Games.
It raises questions about Bharati Dave's credentials. It also clarifies that no official selection has been conducted for either the competition category or the opening ceremony.
Does that mean, the whole selection has been ad hoc?
Avanti and Anushka have given up school exams being part of national-level teams just normal life to represent India in synchronised swimming. But now hurt by the ad hoc manner in which they have been treated, they are not sure whether they will have a fair chance in the final selections.
Now, barely two months to the Games, the 7-member team has been split up without their knowledge and three members sent to the United States for further training. This without any official selection.
Even more perplexing: One member's mother Bharati Dave, who is a support staff for the team, has accompanied her daughter to the US as the team's coach.
"The same thing happened in the Asian Games. They just randomly selected two girls without saying why. They always do it. There is no reason given. It's very demoralizing," said Avanti Merchant, Swimmer.
The Sports Authority of India sent them a letter as an explanation. In it, the Coach Fujishima has recommended only three of the seven girls for the competition category.
She recommends the remaining four including Avanti and Anushka only for the opening ceremony performance.
But the girls show us another letter sent by Coach Fujishima to the Grievance Cell of the Commonwealth Games.
It raises questions about Bharati Dave's credentials. It also clarifies that no official selection has been conducted for either the competition category or the opening ceremony.
Does that mean, the whole selection has been ad hoc?
Avanti and Anushka have given up school exams being part of national-level teams just normal life to represent India in synchronised swimming. But now hurt by the ad hoc manner in which they have been treated, they are not sure whether they will have a fair chance in the final selections.
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