A video of Tami Nadu pole vaulter Pavithra Venkatesh speaking about the Railway authorities, who had pushed her and four of her teammates and their equipment out of the train for not getting the requisite permission for the pole vaults, has gone viral among the athletes. And it has forced the Tamil Nadu Athletic Association (TNAA) to take up the issue.
The athletes had taken the morning train on Wednesday from Thiruvananthapuram after the Nationals jumps competition. The Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kollam said it was not within the rules to carry equipment without the requisite permission.
“Despite asking her to give us time, the TTE pushed us and our pole vaults were thrown on the track. There is no respect for sportspersons. We want the authorities to take action against the TTE,” Pavithra, who had just won the gold medal in Thiruvananthapuram, said to The Hindu.
Stranded in Kollam, Pavithra and her friends filed a complaint with the Kollam TTE and booked the next train to her hometown Salem. “It was a very tough time for us as we had to wait for around three hours for the next train. Nobody should go through what we went through,” added Pavithra.
C. Latha, Secretary of TNAA, said it was shocking that a sports loving state such as Kerala has treated sportspersons in such a manner. We will soon be writing to the Southern Railway authorities.”
