Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain has said that she is experiencing ‘mental harassment’ as her preparation for the Commonwealth Games has been hampered due to the absence of her personal coach Sandhya Gurung in the Games Village in Birmingham.
“It is with a lot of sadness that I say that I have been experiencing a lot of harassment,” Borgohain said in a post on Twitter on Monday.
“Every time my coaches who helped me win a medal at the Olympics have been removed from my training process and competition. One of these coaches, Sandhya Gurung ji, is also a Dronacharya awardee. Despite thousands of requests, they are always allowed late for my training. This hampers my training and puts me through a lot of hardships and mental harassment.
“Now, my coach Sandhya Gurung ji is out of the Commonwealth Village as she is not allowed entry and my training has been brought to a halt eight days before the Games. My other coach has been sent back to India, despite me requesting multiple times. I don’t understand how I am supposed to focus on my game. This situation ruined my performance during the last World championships also. I don’t want this politics to ruin my Commonwealth Games too. I hope I can break through this politics and win a medal for my country. Jai Hind,” she said.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) secretary Hemanta Kalita said the federation tried its best to get an accreditation for Sandhya so that she could stay with the team.
“The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) allotted 33% percent officials on the total number of athletes. We have 12 athletes, so we got four officials. We made a request and got another four. We put Sandhya’s name in the long list and requested for her inclusion, the (Sports Authority of India (SAI) also sanctioned her name, but the IOA is not doing it,” Kalita told The Hindu.
“We gave the names of two women’s coaches who coach everybody. There is a doctor, two physios and a masseur. We could not even send a team manager.
“Sending personal coaches is a problem. We put Sandhya’s name only for Lovlina. We are following up on this with the IOA,” said Kalita.
Meanwhile, the Union Sports Ministry has urged the IOA to “immediately arrange for the accreditation of the coach of Lovlina.”
