Kerala athletes anxious

Jakarta, Aug. 20: The tragedy unfolding in the aftermath of the Kerala floods is finding an echo in faraway Indonesia where athletes from the state have anxiety in their hearts but have their minds focussed on the Asian Games.

A swimmer didn’t even know of it until a journalist enquired, a sprinter is worried, while a hockey player is just relieved that his family is in a safe zone even though he is heartbroken for the state.

India’s chef- de- mission at the ongoing Games, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, said that the athletes will be updated on the safety status of their families after seeking the home ministry’s assistance.

“We will approach the home ministry to find the whereabouts of missing family members of the Kerala athletes. They need support and we want them to compete without taking any load,” Singh said.

“I know it’s difficult when such tragedies happen but we will try to get assuring news for them,” he added.

Kerala’s representation is strong in the Indian teams of athletics, volleyball, and basketball besides a significant presence in squads for swimming and hockey. The number adds up to 34 in all. The athletes are dealing with the conflicting emotions of being so far away from home amid a calamity that has claimed over 300 lives till now.

“My family is in a safe which is because I said.

“I sometimes think in my head ‘ oh just shut up, Gaurika – you’re so annoying!’ I’m a social person.”

Singh, who left Nepal as a toddler to move to fair enough am,” Singh zone but a lot of my relatives and friends are affected by the terrible floods. I did not expect the situation to be so severe. It is a sad situation,” sprinter Muhammed Anas, who is the 400m national recordholder and a strong medalcontender at the ongoing Games, said.

Anas hails from Nilamel town near Thiruvananthapuram, which has been relatively better off. Long- jumper Shreeshankar, all of 19 and I was seeing the news and a reporter here, who was in touch informed me. He told me that he spoke to my mother and members of my family are affected by the floods in Kerala

SAJAN PRAKASH,

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swimmer

competing in his maiden Asiad, spoke of the fear of losing his grandparents who were eventually traced out in the Idukki district.

“I have seen the devastation with my own eyes, people dying, houses being flooded and buried by landslides, people living on roads and makeshift places. My grandfather’s family could not be contacted. Now I have been told by my parents that they were contacted through phone,” Shreeshankar said.