Sports Ministry launches athlete injury management system

New Delhi, June 12: Taking a another step to make India a great sporting nation, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday launched the Central Athlete Injury Management System (CAIMS) for streamlining sports medicine and rehabilitation support offered to the athletes.

The system will help to standardize appropriate injury treatment protocols for athletes across the country.CAIMS aims to provide the best sports injury management support nearest to the athlete’s geographical location. It will start with support for athletes who are a part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) development group expected to participate in 2024 and beyond.

The core committee of CAIMS includes eminent top-of-the-line experts such as Dr. SKS Marya, Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, Dr. BV Srinivas, and Shrikant Iyengar. Sports Authority of India (SAI) will run the CAIMS in collaboration with the leading medical experts of the country,

While launching CAIMS, the sports minister hailed the move saying, “It was long desired by everyone to have a Centralised Athlete Injury Management system in our country."

He added, "I have seen sometimes that even for common injuries, treatment is not done in time which has led to affecting the career of the athlete. Today is a very humble beginning but this will lead to a system where we will have a very professional way of management in the entire handling of the injury of the athlete.”

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Speaking about the importance of the initiative, Secretary (Sports) Ravi Mital said “Sports has become very competitive and when our athletes compete to their maximum to win medals they sometimes get injured. It is imperative to treat these injuries at a right time and in the right way to ensure that our athletes are in the best of health and form."

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Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra lauded the Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India for the initiative. "A lack of communication between athletes and medical providers leads to devastating injuries to athletes, hinders their recovery, and leads to re-injury and that affects their career," Batra said.