The Responsibility of Support Teams for Indian Wrestlers’ Olympic Failures

The Paris 2024 Olympics were a major disappointment for Indian wrestling fans, as both Vinesh Phogat and Antim Panghal failed to live up to expectations. While many have been quick to blame the IOA-appointed medical team for their poor performances, the truth is that the responsibility lies with the athletes and their coaches.

IOA President Narinder Batra has made it clear that weight management is the responsibility of each athlete and their coach, and that the medical team is primarily there for injury management and to support athletes who do not have their own nutritionists and physiotherapists. This means that the blame for Vinesh and Antim’s failures should not be placed on individuals like Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, who was unfairly scapegoated by some members of the media.

Instead, we need to hold the coaches and support teams accountable for their role in these athletes’ Olympic journeys. It is their job to ensure that their athletes are in peak physical condition and are able to perform at their best on the world stage. This includes not only managing their weight, but also providing them with the necessary resources and support to succeed.

Of course, this is not to say that the medical team is completely blameless. If they were negligent in their duties or failed to provide adequate support to the athletes, then they should be held accountable. However, we cannot simply point fingers and assign blame without first understanding the full picture.

Ultimately, the responsibility for success or failure at the Olympics lies with the athletes themselves. They are the ones who have put in countless hours of training and sacrifice to get to where they are, and they are the ones who must perform when it matters most. But we cannot ignore the important role that coaches and support teams play in their journeys, and we must hold them accountable when they fall short.

So let us not scapegoat individuals like Dr. Pardiwala, but instead focus on the bigger picture and work towards creating a system that supports our athletes and helps them achieve their full potential.