New Delhi, Renowned sports medicine expert Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala on Sunday said that all Indian athletes who participated in the Paris Olympics, including javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, were "fit enough" to perform on the big stage when the quadrennial showpiece begins in July. 26.
Pardiwala, chief medical officer (CMO) of the nearly 120-member Indian contingent for the Paris Games, added that his 13-member team will provide the best possible medical assistance to the contingent in the areas of injury management, sports nutrition and mental health. conditioning, sports massage, recovery and sleep.
"All the athletes going to the Olympics are in shape right now. Some athletes will have little hiccups here and there. I'm not going to talk about any specific injuries that any athlete has had in the past, but everyone who is there they are there because they are going to be capable and fit enough to perform," he said.
Pardiwala has treated some top athletes, including India's wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who suffered serious injuries during a car accident, and Tokyo Games silver medalist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu.
The Indian Olympic Association, the Ministry of Sports and the Sports Authority of India have brought together a team of world-class medical experts, led by Pardiwala, to provide the best rest and recovery facilities to athletes as they bid to improve the harvest of seven medals in the Championship. Tokyo Olympic Games.
"This is the first time Indian athletes will have a recovery room and a preparatory rehabilitation room to get them ready for the game," Pardiwala said.
In the past, athletes had to visit a common polyclinic for approximately 10,000 competitors to take advantage of physiotherapy and recovery services, and securing places was time-consuming. But this time, the 13-member medical team will also take care of those aspects so that the athletes can only concentrate on their tests and "not waste time" thinking about rest and recovery.
"It will be open 24/7. We also have a sleep therapist on board because, over the years, one of the concerns has been lack of sleep to rest and recover. The Time zones are different, the pressures and anxiety are there. So, to ensure that athletes are not getting enough sleep, we have a sleep therapist on board who will address all of these concerns," he said.
"We have already started sleep therapy sessions and we are also going to have some capsules to help our athletes with the sleep aspect," he said.
Several athletes have personal physiotherapists, mental trainers and nutritionists, and Pardiwala said that for those who cannot bring their support staff to Paris, his team has already coordinated with them and will help them in any way possible.
"Since the sports science team was announced, the first thing we have done is start getting to know our athletes in three different aspects: sports medicine, sports nutrition and mental conditioning. We have visited national camps, competitions, etc. to get to know better your needs. "
With warm weather expected during the Games and the Paris Olympics which will not be conducive to air conditioning in the Athletes' Village, there is genuine concern for athletes' rest and recovery.
Pardiwala said: "Yes, there will be no air conditioning per se supplied by the organizers in the Village. Their main problem is that they want it to be a green Olympics, and if we want it to be a green Olympics, then I don't want there to be air conditioning. because that is not environmentally friendly.
"Several contingents have said 'our athletes are used to temperature-controlled environments.' They (the Paris organizers) have a sort of geothermal system where there will be a temperature inside the Village at least 5 to 7 degrees lower than ambient. And the expected temperature in Paris is between 18 and 26 degrees C. If the ambient temperature is 5 to 6 degrees lower, I think everything will be fine," he reasoned.
Pardiwala, chief medical officer (CMO) of the nearly 120-member Indian contingent for the Paris Games, added that his 13-member team will provide the best possible medical assistance to the contingent in the areas of injury management, sports nutrition and mental health. conditioning, sports massage, recovery and sleep.
"All the athletes going to the Olympics are in shape right now. Some athletes will have little hiccups here and there. I'm not going to talk about any specific injuries that any athlete has had in the past, but everyone who is there they are there because they are going to be capable and fit enough to perform," he said.
Pardiwala has treated some top athletes, including India's wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who suffered serious injuries during a car accident, and Tokyo Games silver medalist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu.
The Indian Olympic Association, the Ministry of Sports and the Sports Authority of India have brought together a team of world-class medical experts, led by Pardiwala, to provide the best rest and recovery facilities to athletes as they bid to improve the harvest of seven medals in the Championship. Tokyo Olympic Games.
"This is the first time Indian athletes will have a recovery room and a preparatory rehabilitation room to get them ready for the game," Pardiwala said.
In the past, athletes had to visit a common polyclinic for approximately 10,000 competitors to take advantage of physiotherapy and recovery services, and securing places was time-consuming. But this time, the 13-member medical team will also take care of those aspects so that the athletes can only concentrate on their tests and "not waste time" thinking about rest and recovery.
"It will be open 24/7. We also have a sleep therapist on board because, over the years, one of the concerns has been lack of sleep to rest and recover. The Time zones are different, the pressures and anxiety are there. So, to ensure that athletes are not getting enough sleep, we have a sleep therapist on board who will address all of these concerns," he said.
"We have already started sleep therapy sessions and we are also going to have some capsules to help our athletes with the sleep aspect," he said.
Several athletes have personal physiotherapists, mental trainers and nutritionists, and Pardiwala said that for those who cannot bring their support staff to Paris, his team has already coordinated with them and will help them in any way possible.
"Since the sports science team was announced, the first thing we have done is start getting to know our athletes in three different aspects: sports medicine, sports nutrition and mental conditioning. We have visited national camps, competitions, etc. to get to know better your needs. "
With warm weather expected during the Games and the Paris Olympics which will not be conducive to air conditioning in the Athletes' Village, there is genuine concern for athletes' rest and recovery.
Pardiwala said: "Yes, there will be no air conditioning per se supplied by the organizers in the Village. Their main problem is that they want it to be a green Olympics, and if we want it to be a green Olympics, then I don't want there to be air conditioning. because that is not environmentally friendly.
"Several contingents have said 'our athletes are used to temperature-controlled environments.' They (the Paris organizers) have a sort of geothermal system where there will be a temperature inside the Village at least 5 to 7 degrees lower than ambient. And the expected temperature in Paris is between 18 and 26 degrees C. If the ambient temperature is 5 to 6 degrees lower, I think everything will be fine," he reasoned.
