The athletes participating in the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships 2023 are frustrated and angered as they continue to ply their trade in the sweltering heat of Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The event serves as the final qualifying event for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China and they have no other option but to give their best in the heat to secure a ticket to the marquee continental competition.
The mercury in Bhubaneswar rose to 44.4°C which led the Indian Meteorological Department to issue a yellow warning to cities around the Odisha capital.
Decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, who was training in the USA prior to the event, was seen bleeding from his nose. However, he could not stop and accumulated 2368 points in the three morning events, far from his optimum level.
MORE: Indonesia Open 2023 badminton: Chirag Shetty-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy rally into the final
What did the athletes say about playing in the heat?
Shankar vented his anger at the organisers and put out a tweet which read: "Absolute horrendous heat at #interstatechampionships Everyone still competing in the dec deserves to be judged by more than just a score at the end of the comp."
Absolute horrendous heat at #interstatechampionships Everyone still competing in the dec deserves to be judged by more than just a score at the end of the comp.
— Tejaswin Shankar (TJ) (@TejaswinShankar) June 17, 2023
However, Shankar scored a total of 7576 points the gruelling event and qualify for Asian Games.
Srabani Nanda, who finished second in the 100m race, compared the conditions to Doha in Qatar, which is a desert city.
"The weather drained me out. It’s not good at all, but I cannot complain about it. These are similar conditions when you go to Doha. But it could have been better because when you are keeping at it for the qualification, your country should think 100 per cent about the athletes on where they can do better. It’s a matter of qualifying (for Asian Games)," she told Sportstar.
The meet was originally scheduled to be held in Ranchi in July but was brought ahead as the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) asked Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to submit the athlete list for the Asian Games in China by July 15.
“We have been preparing, but there was a sudden change because this was supposed to be in July, and I was told a month earlier [of the change] and I had to come from Jamaica to compete. And the May meet [Federation Cup] was even earlier. So there was some disturbance in training,” complained Nanda.
Mihira Khopkar, the lead sports nutritionist with the Reliance Foundation, suggested consuming more fluids with electrolytes to prevent getting dehydrated.
"When you are sweating so much, people are changing three to four t-shirts in the first half of a session in these conditions. You are losing fluids and electrolytes, which need to be replenished. Everyone is experiencing the same humidity. We are focusing on three things: 1) keep drinking electrolyte water, 2) check the weight and urine colour, and, 3) avoid being thirsty,” she said.
MORE: Latest sports betting and odds
