‘The reason being he is unfit and there is no performance. So there is no point keeping him in the camp,’ says the president of the Weightlifting Federation.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jeremy Lalrinnunga has been ‘weeded out’ of the weightlifting national camp after he refused to travel to St Louis in the United States for rehabilitation of a back injury under the supervision of Dr Aaron Horschig, a strength and conditioning specialist who Olympic medalist Mirabai Chanu consults.
Jeremy, 20, didn’t participate in the trials of the Asian Games and the World Championships held in Patiala on June 30 and ‘at the last minute’ he refused to travel to St Louis though the proposal was cleared by the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) president Sahdev Yadav said on Thursday.
“Jeremy has been weeded out of the camp. The reason being he is unfit and there is no performance. So there is no point keeping him in the camp. We wanted to send him to St Louis in the USA to the doctor there (Dr Horschig) but he said he does not want to go and he emailed me too. He is a specialist doctor who has helped Mirabai in the past. The proposal was cleared by TOPs. But at the last moment he said he won’t go. He was removed from camp on July 1,” Yadav said.
Jeremy is at the Army Sports Institute in Pune and will need to rest for at least one-and-a-half months before starting training, the IWFL president said, adding that since Jeremy is not participating at the World Championships he won’t be able to go to the Olympics.
“The injury occurred during training. He didn’t participate in the Asian Games and the World Championship trials. If he does not go to the World Championships he can’t go for the Olympics. That is the rule,” the IWLF president said.
Though Yadav confirmed there were no major disciplinary issues, he said it seemed that Jeremy wasn’t focussed enough.
“I am very worried about him. The way he won a gold medal at the Youth Olympics, if he had continued like that he would have been at the top. But bache ka dhimaag kharab ho jata hai. (his mindset has gone bad). He got lots of money from CWG (after the gold), about a crore and the government gives money about Rs 50,000 every month. Fact is bigad gaya hai. (he is spoiled). I am sad, I want him to make a comeback but he needs to reform himself.”
Yadav said that he had advised Jeremy but it didn’t make a difference. “Kids don’t listen these days.”
The IWLF president said that if Jeremy had travelled to the USA, it would have made a big difference and he perhaps would have also been fit enough to participate in the World Champions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ” I believe if he had gone to the USA and been under the treatment of the doctor there, he could have gone for the World Championships. I would have ensured he went to the world championships.”
Mirabai 95 percent fit
Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu is now “95 percent fit” after recovering from a thigh injury she suffered a month and a half back. She will participate in the World Championships from September 2 and the Asian Games three weeks later but will skip the Commonwealth Championships to be hosted by India from next week.
“Mirabai had an injury, she is undergoing rehabilitation in St Louis for that. She is 95 per cent fit now and training well,” Yadav said. “About a month-and-a-half ago, Mirabai had complained of a problem in her thigh.”
Mirabai is in St Louis for a two-month long camp under Dr Horschig who she has been consulting for the past two years.
Two championships will be hosted by the Indian Weightlifting Federation in July — the Commonwealth Senior, Junior and Youth Championships in Greater Noida from July 12 and the Asian Youth and Junior Championships at the same venue from July 28.
From St Louis, Mirabai will first travel to Riyadh for the World Championship, stay back there and then go to Hangzhou for the Asian Games.
