New academy focusing on sports pharmacy to open its doors this year

NEW DELHI: Focusing on sports and sports pharmacy, Academy of Sports Sciences and Research Management (ASSRM) will launch its first set of courses in the 2018-19 academic session.

ASSRM, set up last October as part of Delhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research, will begin with postgraduate courses in sports science with specialisations on sports & exercise science and sports digitalisation, and diploma courses on sports pharmacy and sports management. The admissions will take place 10 days after the results of the higher secondary exams.

Vice-chancellor Ramesh K Goyal said the idea was to bring in world-class skill development courses in the field of sports pharmacy, which had been absent in India.

Sports pharmacy, he said, encompasses use of drugs in athletics, either for therapeutic or for performance enhancement purposes. “Sports pharmacists use their expertise in drug selection and dosage to meet the unique needs of athletes for treatment and preventative care. This will help in drug education, information and counselling to athletes, parents, physicians, coaches, athletic trainers, as well as the public.”

Such experts will also make a sportsperson aware about the substances banned, permitted or restricted by a specific governing agency, Goyal said.

The focus on sports follows the national sports policy that pushes for “suitable mechanisms to achieve coordination between the laboratory and the field”, said the VC.

According to Anshul Bagai, director of ASSRM, growth of various sports in the country is not at the desired pace because of lack of facilities and proper scientific backup. “The Indian sports ecosystem needs experts who are associated with each discipline in terms of sports pharmacy to improve the present situtaion. This will help us achieve a better sports culture.”