CWG 2022 LIVE – Lovlina Borgohain Harassment: Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain has hit out at the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), claimed that one of her coach Sandhya Gurung was denied entry to the Commonwealth Games village in Birmingham. The Sports Ministry intervened and after a special request, an accreditation was granted nipping the controversy just a day before the games begin. Follow India at CWG 2022 LIVE on Insidesport.IN
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.”
Lovlina Borgohain vs BFI – What we know so far
- On Monday, Lovlina Borgohain accused BFI of mental harassment for letting her coaches enter the Commonwealth Games Village in Birmingham.
- The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist said that she had raised this issue multiple times but received no support which in turn has hampered her CWG 2022 preparations.
- The BFI have responded by shifting the blame on IOA but maintained they are continuously working towards accreditation.
- The Sports Ministry have also reportedly asked the IOA to allow Sandhya’s entry in the village.
- A decision on the same is expected in a day or two.
- Assam CM Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma is also looking into the matter.
- The IOA have released a statement, making a special request to the organising committee.
CWG 2022 LIVE: Lovlina Borgohain accuses BFI of harassment, Federation shifts blame on IOA, Sports Ministry intervenes – Follow live updates
Olympic bronze medallist and star India boxer Lovlina Borgohain has accused authorities of mental harassment, alleging that one of her coaches has been refused entry to the Commonwealth Games village in Birmingham while the other one has been sent back to India.
Lovlina took to social media to share details of the alleged injustice, saying it has heavily impacted her training for the Commonwealth Games 2022. Notably, Lovlina will be representing India in the 70kg category at the Commonwealth Games 2022, which will start from July 28 onwards.
— Lovlina Borgohain (@LovlinaBorgohai) July 25, 2022
In a tweet, she shared a note saying, “Today with great sorrow I want to confess that I am facing a lot of harassment. The coaches who helped me secure a medal in the Olympics are being removed again and again, affecting my training and competition preparation. One of the coaches is Sandhya Gurungji and she is a Dronacharya awardee. Both of my coaches have to plead to be included in the training camp and they are added quite late.”
CWG 2022 LIVE: Lovlina Borgohain accuses BFI of harassment, Federation shifts blame on IOA, Sports Ministry intervenes – Follow live updates
She added, “This has caused me a lot of problems in my training and this causes mental harassment as well. Right now, my coach Sandhya Gurungji is not getting entry into the Commonwealth Village and she is outside. Due to this, my training has stopped eight days ahead of the competition. My second coach has also been sent back to India.”
Lovlina said that this is happening to her despite a lot of requests she has made to stop this and it has caused her a lot of mental harassment.
“I do not know how to focus on the Games in this situation. Due to this, my last world championships were also ruined. But I do not want to ruin my CWG campaign because of this politics. I hope that I can break this politics and win a medal for my country,” she concluded.
CWG 2022 LIVE: Lovlina Borgohain accuses BFI of harassment, Federation shifts blame on IOA, Sports Ministry intervenes – Follow live updates
Just hours after Borgohain’s tweet, the Boxing Federation of India responded to the same suggesting that the matter was in the hands of the Indian Olympic Association. BFI Secretary Hemantha Kalidas revealed that the BFI have done everything they can to get the matter resolved and a decision on the same should be made in a day or two.
Speaking to PTI, Kalidas said, “The IOA and BFI are working to get Sandhya’s accreditation continuously. It is in IOA’s hand but it will come by today or tomorrow. We had given all names beforehand but there is a quota system. Based on the number of athletes who have qualified there is 25 per cent quota. So we had four officials, which includes coach, doctor etc.”
“We had requested the IOA and they have increased the quota to eight. Four will stay inside the village and four have to stay outside, they can enter the village, and spend the day but at night they have to go back out,” Kalita added.
CWG 2022 LIVE: Lovlina Borgohain accuses BFI of harassment, Federation shifts blame on IOA, Sports Ministry intervenes – Follow live updates
Meanwhile, The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has urged the Indian Olympic Association that accreditation be given to Lovlina Borgohain’s personal coach, Sandhya Gurung so that the boxer can train as per her requirement, ANI sources said. Last week, the name of Sandhya Gurung was included in the final CWG contingent list on the basis of a special recommendation made by the Sports Authority of India to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in view of the requirement.
IOA STATEMENT: pic.twitter.com/uxgc8Fm6jp
— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) July 25, 2022
The IOA have released a statement saying that they have made a special request to the organising committee to allow Borgohain’s coach. A decision was made in a special meeting in Birmingham despite receiving a late request for Gurung’s accreditation.
CWG 2022 LIVE: Lovlina Borgohain accuses BFI of harassment, Federation shifts blame on IOA, Sports Ministry intervenes – Follow live updates
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