New Delhi : Facing a major shortage of professional masseurs to cater to sportspersons during the Commonwealth Games scheduled here this October, authorities are now looking for foreign experts and also trying to bring in masseurs from other states.

"I don't have the exact number, but around 400 masseurs are needed for the Games. We are trying to arrange them from other states like Kerala," Delhi's Health Secretary J.P Singh told the media while admitting the shortage of masseurs for the Games.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG), the 19th edition of these games, will be held from Oct 3 to 14. Thousands of athletes are expected to take part in the event. "We need properly trained and well qualified masseurs to provide support to sportspersons taking part in the Games. But there is a serious shortage of them," said an official of the Delhi government's health department.

"We are in the process of identifying and shortlisting masseurs. Once that is done, further training would be imparted to them by experts," the official added. "It is a little difficult to find well-trained masseurs as a lot of them are employed with private massage parlours. A number of them may be busy serving tourists during that period and this has led to increase in their demand," he added.

Commonwealth Games Organising Committee spokesperson Lalit Bhanot also said, "Yes, there is a shortage of masseurs. We are trying to arrange masseurs from treatment centres in West Bengal and Kerala." "We are also trying to bring in foreign experts. They will be in the city during the games and would train the selected masseurs here," Bhanot told the media.

Officials said, "The health department is considering training the masseurs in foot massage, Ayurvedic massage, Panchakarma, oil massage and other types of massages. The health department along with the Games organising committee is likely to jointly bear the expenditure of their training."

The health department official refused to say by when the masseurs would be trained or ready or how they would be recruited. Experts believe massage also helps in stress management.

Explaining the importance of masseurs in any sports event, Alakananda Banerjee, head of the physiotherapy department at Max Hospital in Saket, told the media, "They are a very important aspect of the training of sportspersons and are required in all sports like hockey, football and others. Masseurs are required before, during and after any sporting event. When sportspersons play, their muscles get tightened which can lower their performance. The massage helps in blood circulation, ultimately helping the sportspersons. The Commonwealth Games will definitely require the services of lots of masseurs."

Banerjee said she had been approached by the Games authorities to help in identifying well-trained masseurs and had recommended some names. Besides the professionally trained masseurs, the city and the nearby areas have a number of traditional masseurs, who are generally untrained, but quite popular among tourists.