Group of 200 masseurs to be formed for games

New Delhi: A core group of 200 masseurs trained in the famous therapeutic ayurvedic massages of Kerala will be trained in "Games-specific massages" for the 8,000 odd sportspersons during the Commonwealth Games. To decide on about 100 trained masseurs, the Delhi government will send teams to Kerala over the weekend.

For another 100 masseurs, 70 will be brought from West Bengal and some 30-odd may be selected from Delhi. To train masseurs for the 8,000-odd players expected to come to the capital in October 2010, the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games will bring in experts who will hold training sessions aimed at "games-specific massage therapies".

The Delhi government's health department is planning to send its team over the coming weekend to Kerala to finalize the list of masseurs who will be given the necessary training. Health minister Kiran Walia pointed that the ayurvedic massages of Kerala are famous and it has been found that masseurs of some institutes in West Bengal are also good. "In fact, research has shown that masseurs of Indian system of medicine like Ayurveda are probably among the best in massaging techniques," Walia said.

Delhi health minister and chairman of the Medical Committee for the Games, pointed that masseurs specializing in sports massages were an important component of the arrangements to be made on the health front.

"The special 'Games-specific' massages are aimed to cater to the needs of athletes and sportsmen of the calibre of the 2010 Games. Thus masseurs will have to be trained for which the Organising Committee of the Commonwealth Games Federation will be bringing in experts. At the state government level, too, there will be some training programmes," Walia added.