Boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who will be representing India at the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, took to Twitter to vent out her frustrations on how her training process is being hampered because of certain factors. Reacting to the post, the Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports tweeted, “We have urged the Indian Olympic Association to immediately arrange for the accreditation of the coach of Lovlina Borgohain.”

“It is with great regret that I am informing that I am constantly getting harassed due to the removal of my coaches. The constant removal of my coaches, who have helped me win the Olympics medal for my country, is affecting my training process for the competition,” she wrote on Monday.

“One of them is Sandhya Gurungji, a Dronacharya awardee. Both my coaches have to request countless times, even in training camps, before they are included at the last moment. At this moment, my coach Sandhya Gurung is not even in the Commonwealth Games Village as she still hasn’t gotten entry and my training process has stalled just 8 days before the games. My second coach has also been sent back to India,” she added.

“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 concluded.

According to PTI, the BFI on Monday 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.”

Borgohain, the first Assamese female athlete to represent India at the Olympics, is currently preparing for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Source Indian Express

BDST: 1158 HRS, JULY 26, 2022
MSK