Anand Dubey is much sought as a high quality physiotherapist, by a vast circle of sports persons, men and women.
The best thing to have happened at the Tokyo Olympics was when Anand’s accreditation for tennis was extended so that he could help the Indian wrestlers.
Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya won the Olympic medals, while Deepak Punia missed a medal narrowly.
All three of them were so impressed with the work of Anand, who has travelled across the world, gathering knowledge and imbibing best practices, that all of them were keen to get his services on a long term basis with an eye on the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games this year.
However, it was Bajrang who was first to swing into action in an attempt to secure the services of Anand as his personal physiotherapist.
‘’It will be great to work with Bajrang, as he has the potential to win the gold in the next Olympics in Paris’’, said Anand, who is employed with Railways.
He has rendered service from 1997, across many sports disciplines with rare distinction and compassion, ensuring that many athletes became normal and avoided surgery, through meticulous rehabilitation process.
Anand has been to Grand Slams with tennis players Sania Mirza and Divij Sharan. He has also been the physio in many Davis Cup and the erstwhile Fed Cup teams, at home and abroad, winning the trust of the fraternity. Apart from the Olympics, he has also played his role well in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
Though highly respected in the sports circles, Anand does feel that the role of the physio, who ensures the athlete stays in his or her best physical shape for competition, is not fully appreciated.
He has reason to believe so, as he was the only one to be left out in the list of sports persons and support staff, for cash awards by his employer, on return from the Tokyo Olympics.
It does hurt, but Anand puts up a brave face, and even manages a smile.
‘’I only hope the relevant rules are revised so that a physio is treated on par with the others, if not better. I will continue to do my best work, with all the sports people I get attached with, in training and competition’’, said Anand, who is waiting for the green signal to start working with Bajrang Punia, as the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has already initiated the process.
