Kolkata: Srabani Nanda, a sprinter from Odisha has got a golden opportunity to train in Jamaica, the place where the fastest man on earth Usain Bolt hails from.
The twenty-five year old sprinter won a gold medal at the South Asian Games this year in Assam and was also a part of the Indian team of athletes to the Rio Olympics.Srabani is also the leading female athlete from her state.
She will be training at the MVP Track and Field Cub, which was made famous by three-time triple Olympic Gold Medalist, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. She has been accompanied to Jamaica by her coach Tarun Saha and her personal physio.
This is what her coach had to say, “We proposed for Jamaica. Srabani also wanted to, so we contacted Odisha’s sports ministry. They have helped us. Not a single state government has helped an athlete like this.”
Also he said, “The tough training has not started. From February it will begin. We will stay here till May. Then Srabani will join in the Asian Meet.”
Saha was right in praising the Odisha Sports Ministry as the latter took all the initiatives after Srabani had returned to India from Rio. Without their, “tremendous support” it wouldn’t have been possible for Srabani to go to Jamaica.
However, there has been talks regarding the Odisha Government sending another sprinter, Dutee Chand to Jamaica for training.
Tarun Saha, who had left for Kingston early on Wednesday night also said, “I am having telephonic conversation with Srabani almost every day. Yesterday, she said Fraser-Pryce has also begun training and they also exchanged courtesy after the end of training.”
Srabani is under a diet prescribed by the head coach of the MVP Track and Field Cub, Paul Francis and she is following the diet to gain more strength. As per a report by OneIndia News, she will training under Francis for three shifts in a day.
According to her coach, she would participate in the Asian Championship after training in Jamaica and then her performance would be reviewed, before a decision is made on whether to train her in Jamaica, again.