Javelin throw coach Uwe Hohn out, AFI says it is hiring two new coaches
Jaipur(PTI): The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Monday announced the end of its association with national chief javelin coach Uwe Hohn, saying it is "not happy" with his performance and will hire two new foreign coaches soon.
The contract of the 59-year-old German, a former world record holder, was valid until the end of the Tokyo Olympics.
"We are bringing two more coaches and we are changing Uwe Hohn as we are not happy with his performance. We are looking for a foreign coach for Toor (shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor)," said AFI president Adille Sumariwalla.
Sumariwalla was speaking during a press conference at the end of a two-day executive council meeting of the federation that was also attended by AFI planning committee chairman Lalit K Bhanot and vice-president Anju Bobby George.
Hohn was appointed as chief coach in November 2017 for one year to train the likes of Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and two other Tokyo Olympians in Shivpal Singh and Annu Rani.
Chopra was under his tutelage during the Commonwealth and Asian Games in 2018 before another German Klaus Bartonietz took up that role.
Hohn had kicked up quite a storm before the Olympics by claiming that he had been blackmailed into accepting his contract by the Sports Authority of India and AFI. Both the bodies had rejected the charge.
A host of issues were discussed in detail during the meeting here, including redesigning the AFI's junior (grassroot development) programme, introduction of build-up tournaments for top international events such as the world championships and the Olympics and radically refurbishing its coaching programme, especially for the juniors.
"To reach the next level, we have to redesign the junior programme, how to do talent identification better to improve it further, we held discussions with athletes and coaches, both former and present athletes from all states," Sumariwalla said.
One of the conclusions of the meeting was that the athletes need more tournaments in the run-up to marquee global events.
"Athletes need more competitions, this is mainly for seniors to prepare for larger competitions. Next year we have a tight calendar -- with the World Championships, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
"Athletes need competition in preparatory period so that their bodies remain in good nick. So the plan is to introduce build-up competitions at the zonal level so that athletes don't have to travel far."
Going by what the AFI said, the coach education programme is also set to see a complete overhaul in the coming times, with the introduction of a certification course involving the sport's global governing body, World Athletics.
"We have decided to bring in foreign caches in junior too to strengthen their foundation and basics.
"Apart from inter-district, we have to identify pockets in every states, how to bring them, what should be the parameters...Also, there will be an open national event for the next five years in Jamshedpur."
"We need experienced coaches who have produced world champions and Olympic champions, with all the latest knowledge. Our coaches will also work alongside the foreign coaches.
"In last one year we have already developed 650 coaches and 1500 in pre level across various levels.
On the upgradation of the coaching programme, he added, "We will start with grassroot as once foundation is strong, elite will automatically get stronger.
"This is a World Athletics course and they will award the certificates. Those coaches are for our identified events -- 400m, walk, javelin, long jump and triple jump.
"There will be a different set of coaches for junior and senior athletes. We have recently identified Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana."
During the meeting, the AFI brass analysed the areas where it did well and also tried to identify the ons where it didn't and the reasons for it.
"A coaching education programme has started, we need at least 5000 level one coaches if we wish to cover 500 district.
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Wildfires race across Chile, leaving 15 dead, forcing thousands to flee
Penco (Chile) (AP): Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 15 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed scores of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country's central Biobio region and the neighbouring Nuble region, around 500 kilometres south of Santiago, the capital.
The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in two dozen wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares and prompted 50,000 people to evacuate, according to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero.
“All resources are available,” Boric wrote on X.
But local officials reported that for hours on Sunday, destruction was everywhere and help from the federal government was nowhere.
“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” said Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”
Firefighters were struggling to extinguish the flames, but strong winds and scorching weather hampered their efforts Sunday with temperatures topping 38 C (100 F).
Residents said that the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.
“Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzman, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it."
Although the total number of homes burned nationwide remained unclear, one municipality of Concepcion in Biobio reported 253 homes destroyed.
“We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” said Juan Lagos, 52, also in Penco. The fire engulfed most of the city, burning cars, a school and a church.
Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.
“From what we can see, there are people who died ... and we knew them well," said Víctor Burboa, 54. "Everyone here knew them.”
