Bhubaneswar: Australian swimming great Stephanie Rice Friday said she is planning to set up a swimming academy in India in her pursuit to produce future Olympic medallists from the country.
Rice won three gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the age of 20 and, six years later, she retired from the sport. Beyond her television assignments and other promotional activities, she said her ultimate goal is to establish a swimming academy in India and groom Olympic medal winners.
“I am really working on it. I have had a number of opportunities to do that but it has not materialised so far for want of right time or right infrastructure. I am quite passionate about India and I have spoken to quite a lot of people to start the academy,” Rice said.
“If India has to do well in the Olympics, the country will have to win medals in sports like swimming.”
Asked if the country lacks sporting culture, she said, “It is not like that, India is fantastic in so many sports, say cricket or hockey. I don’t think that it is about lack of quality. India has a lot of talent and good infrastructure. The issue is someone who is running it needs to understand what is going on at top level.
“You need people who have done it before, great coaches and great support staff and they will have to be given at least four years. It is not that you will get medal after working with an athlete for just one year. So, if India wants to do well in 2024 Olympics, we need to start now,” she observed