South African Heath Matthews could well be the first foreign physiothrapist to accompany an Indian Olympic contingent, if both the sports ministry and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) sanction his trip to Beijing.

Matthews is boxer Akhil Kumar’s personal physio and he seems to know the pulse of the 54-kg class pugilist, who went to Durban for rehabilitation after surgery on his wrist. The South African is now in Patiala, attending to the needs of the five Beijing-bound boxers. Akhil also wants his personal coach Jaidev Bisht to accompany him. Bisht was with the boxer in Durban.

The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) has written to both the ministry and the IOA, requesting them to include the duo in the list of Indian contingent that will travel to Beijing. IABF secretary-general PK Muralidharan Raja said there was no problem about their travel and other costs. The presence of Matthews, he said, was especially important.

“But unless Matthews is officially named by the IOA and approved by the ministry, he cannot be part of the contingent. Being part of the contingent means access to the team members and accommodation at the Games Village,” Raja said.

Cutting corners

Raja said the Mittal Champions Trust, which has hired him for the duration of the Games to take care of the boxers, is willing to foot the bill. But Raja admits there may be a problem of accommodating him as support staff for the boxers as the IABF has already nominated two coaches — Cuban coach BI Fernandes and national coach GS Sandhu.

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