Singha Roy is clearly not the kind to rest on her laurels, as she is already looking forward to the the forthcoming Beijing Olympics, apart from two international meets in France and Italy in July-August.

Both Singha Roy and her coach Kuntal Roy, however, are worried that they will not be able to attend these two important world meets at all. Looking forward to the forthcoming Bejing Olympics, the country’s top heptathlete is now planning to participate in two key international meets in France and Italy sometime between May and July-August.

And both Sushmita and her coach Kuntal Roy seem to be in great anxiety whether they will be able to garner the required amount of money for participation in the two international championships.

It was learnt that the amount of money required is expected to be around Rs 1.5 lakh. It is an irony that in a country where cricket is raking in billions of dollars, the country’s top athlete is facing a wall in her efforts to garner a comparatively paltry amount of Rs 1.5 lakh needed for preparing for an event as big as the Olympics.

The coach meanwhile is trying all that he can to raise the necessary funds. Asked about the issue, Roy told The Indian Express: “I will place a budget before the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Kolkata management regarding Sushmita’s twin international exposure meets. The SAI top brass should now take care of her by providing her proper infrastructure and financial support so that she can improve her performance in the Olympics.”

And asked about the training that already began yesterday, Kuntal Roy stressed on the psychological training front. “She had worked under qualified psychologist of the SAI, Dr Rina Kaul, for a few days before going to Bhopal. Yoga and meditation, the major parts of psychological training under Kaul, will help Sushmita develop mental strength as well as concentration in a big way. And I want to make it a regular feature for her till the Olympics.”

Sushmita has added another event, the 200-metre dash, in which she is going to compete from now on regularly. And her forthcoming international meet, the SAARC Athletics Championship, to be held in Kochin on March 7 and 8, will be important for her in this respect. According to Kuntal Roy, Sushmita will be able to test her mettle in the SAARC meet by participating in the 200m circuit where heptathelon has been included.