New Delhi, July 24: Issuing a tender with incomplete specifications was the reason behind the inordinate delay in importing equipment that has put the Indian cyclists’ medal chances in jeopardy for the Commonwealth Games, just 70 days away now.
The original tender issued by the Sports Authority of India did not mention the number of gears and the carbon fibre content required for the cycles, that makes the equipment lighter and helps cyclists get better acceleration. “We had sent a list of cycles with necessary technical specifications and accessories required to SAI, after consulting the athletes. But the tender issued did not mention those details.
“So, this led to a re-issue of the tender and further delay in purchasing the equipment,” Cycling Federation of India (CFI) president Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa told on Saturday.
SAI had approached the cycle manufacturers through their agents, prolonging the process in return. But this time they have placed a request for 28 cycles at an average cost of between Rs3 and 4 lakhs directly with the manufacturers in London and Paris.
Even a dispute between the sports ministry and the association on the tenure guidelines is seen as a possible impediment.
“They had problems with us on the tenure issue. But why make the athletes suffer. We are no middlemen, through whom the money would go to the cyclists,” said Dhindsa, who has been at the helm of the federation for 14 years. “SAI did not even provide the players with kit as is the tradition. And we had to incur an additional cost of Rs 1 lakh per person,” he claimed.
Dhindsa was unable to say when the wait would end.
“SAI had told us that it would be done within two weeks. But I would be happy if we get the equipment even a month before the October 3 to 14 Games,” he said.
The 38-strong core group including men and women are competing at the three-day invitational event at the newly built velodrome in the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here with their own cycles (costing Rs 40-55,000) as compared to the specialised and superlight versions used by riders from countries like Australia and Malaysia. Women’s coach Amandeep echoed Dhindsa’s sentiments. “Our cyclists have improved a lot in the last two years and I don’t see them being anywhere inferior to their foreign counterparts. With more hi-tech cycles we could possibly bridge the gap.
“There is obviously a huge difference in the cycles that we are riding and what the others have. Their cycles are made of rich carbon fibre which makes them ultra-light and have better gear-switching technology,” he added.