Lovlina took to Twitter to vent her frustration, adding that one of her coaches were denied entry to the Games Village, while another coach had been sent back home to India
File image of Lovlina Borgohain. AP
Birmingham: Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain has revealed that she is being mentally harassed by the authorities ahead of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, starting 28 July.
Lovlina took to Twitter to vent her frustration, adding that one of her coaches were denied entry to the Games Village, while another coach had been sent back home to India.
The Indian boxing squad reached the Games Village on Sunday night after a training stint in Ireland, but Lovlina’s personal coach Sandhya Gurung could not enter the Village since she does not have accreditation.
Lovlina, perhaps, wanted her personal coach Amey Kolekar with her during the CWG, but his name did not feature in the long list.
Lovlina went on to add that she had to plead to be a part of the training camp ahead of the Games.
“Today with great sorrow I want to reveal that harassment is going on with me. The coaches who helped me win the Olympic medal were removed which hindered my training process. One of the coaches is Sandhya Gurungji, who is a Dronacharya awardee. Both of my coaches have to plead to be included in the training camp and they are added quite late,” said Lovlina in a tweet on her Twitter handle.
“Even after requesting so much, this still happened and this has caused me mental harassment. I don’t understand how I will focus on my game if this persists. This is the reason why my performance was not up to the mark in the World Championships and I don’t want this politics to ruin my CWG chances. I hope I can break free of the shackles of this politics and bring medals for my country,” she added.
Reacting to the boxer’s allegations, the Sports Ministry said it has directed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to resolve the matter at the earliest.
“We have urged the Indian Olympic Association to immediately arrange for the accreditation of the coach of Lovlina Borgohain,” the ministry tweeted.
The IOA said it has taken cognisance of the concern raised by the pugilist from Assam.
“The matter of Ms. Gurung’s accreditation was a late request received following the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee’s Delegation registration meeting with the national delegations.
“However, given the IOA places the convenience of the Indian athletes at the highest level, a special request has been made to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on a priority basis to provide Ms. Gurung with the requisite accreditation,” IOA acting president Anil Khanna said in a statement.
Lovlina, 24, had booked her berth for CWG 2022 in June this year by winning the selection trials conducted by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). She is scheduled to take part in the 70kg category in Birmingham.
BFI’s defence
The BFI issued a statement that as per rules only 33 percent (1/3rd) of the playing contingent is allowed as support staff. The Indian boxing contingent has 12 playing members (8 men and 4 women) and as per rules, the number of support staff will be four, which includes travelling coaches.
The BFI further stated that “requirement of boxing with respect to coaches and support staff is a little different as there are multiple bouts, which could be one after another.
“With IOA’s help, the number of support staff went up from 4 to 8 for the entire contingent of 12 boxers.”
Reacting to Lovlina’s allegations that she has to literally beg for inclusion of her coaches for training camps and exposure tours, the BFI said that it “ensured that Sandhya Gurung was at training camp in Ireland.”
(with inputs from PTI)
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