Sandhya Gurung was not allowed to enter the Commonwealth Games village in Birmingham on Sunday, which led to Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain claiming she was being mentally harassed
Sandhya Gurung was not allowed to enter the Commonwealth Games village in Birmingham on Sunday, which led to Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain claiming she was being mentally harassed
Lovlina Borgohain‘s personal coach Sandhya Gurung on Tuesday received her accreditation for the Commonwealth Games, a day after the Olympic bronze medallist claimed her preparation for the event was getting affected due to “continuous harassment” of her coaches.
“Coach Sandhya Gurung has received her accreditation and room at the Games Village in Birmingham,” said a Boxing Federation of India (BFI) statement.
Gurung, who is also Indian team’s assistant coach, was added to the Indian contingent just days before the event.
On arrival here on Sunday, she was not allowed to enter the Village as she did not have an accreditation, triggering the controversy.
Gurung joins boxing team
“Sandhya was brought to the boxing village today morning and given accreditation. She is the with the team now,” an Indian Olympics Association (IOA) official told PTI. Gurung has also been assigned a room at the Games village.
The BFI put the ball in the IOA’s court and the Union Sports Ministry urged the Olympic body to arrange accreditation for Sandhya to facilitate her entry.
Following a special meeting of its top officials, the IOA requested the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (BCGOC) to provide accreditation to the coach.
In a long social media post on Monday, Lovina said she was feeling mentally harassed because it was a struggle to get the coach added to the squad.
Lovlina’s training schedule impacted
“Today with a lot of grief, I want to tell everyone about the continuous harassment going on with me. The coaches who helped me win an Olympic medal are always being side-lined which has severely impacted my training schedule,” Lovlina had written.
Lovlina, who won a bronze in the Olympics last year, credits Gurung for pulling her out of a difficult mental place before the Tokyo Games. Gurung was with Lovlina during the 15-day training camp in Ireland ahead of the CWG.
The BFI had 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.”
— With inputs from PTI