Plan early to prevent another Lovlina-like issue
A short but disturbing tweet was doing the rounds before the Commonwealth Games began in Birmingham. Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain had tweeted about mental harassment. “...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 sidelined, which has severely impacted my training.” The coach in question is Sandhya Gurung. She was there at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics when Lovlina won bronze.
This time she was not given access to the Games Village, where athletes stay. The Boxing Federation of India explained that was because of restrictions on the number of support staff allowed inside the Village. Only one-third of the contingent is permitted. That is four since 12 boxers qualified. BFI said they managed to raise the number to eight because of the nature of the sport.
Still, they could not find a place for Gurung. The sports ministry requested the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to get her the necessary accreditation. Finally, she got it, but IOA acting president Anil Khanna later said that “it is difficult to satisfy Indian athletes”. His statement, though avoidable at this point, may hold some water. Gurung was accommodated but at the cost of a doctor, who is equally a key member. Lovlina is a top boxer, and we need to protect her. We must also consider that a person of not too many words, she was perhaps left with no choice.
This is nothing new. Athletes complain about such issues whenever there is a multi-discipline mega-event like the Olympics or the Asian Games. During the Olympics, Vinesh Phogat, Manika Batra, and Bajrang Punia, to name a few, raised such issues. It happened during the Rio Olympics too. There have been occasions when IOA officials who have little to do with teams were allowed inside the Village.
Exceptions exist despite restrictions since IOA and sports federations would want to please their voting members. With sharper scrutiny of the sports ministry and social media, this has reduced over the years, yet there are occasions when officials sneak in. Khanna might be peeved with athletes’ attitudes, but all it takes is a little planning to avoid such embarrassments.