NEW DELHI: On the 1st of October this year, reports of Indian para athletes taking part in the 2018 Para Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia being refused entry to the athletes' village in Jakarta made headlines. The contingent was allegedly denied entry to the village and not handed keys to their rooms because of the alleged non payment of funds by the Sports Ministry to the tune of USD 2.5 Lakh.
In fact Paralympic Committee of India Vice President Gursharan Singh, who was also the Indian Chef de Mission told PTI at that time from Jakarta, "Unlike the Asian Games held in August, the participating teams for the Para Games will have to make payments for accommodation, competition, registration, among others. Each country will have to pay for accommodation of its athletes at the Games Village, pay competition and registration fee, etc. So, we have to pay around USD 2.5 lakh for the contingent of around 300. We came here without the funds and we had problems in going into the Games Village."
"We had to give an undertaking that we will pay the amount by October 4. If we do not make the payment, we may be told to vacate our accommodation at the Games Village," he added.
Mr Singh also spoke to Times of India on the matter from Jakarta at that time and said," The organisers have not got the money, so they are asking for it. They refused to give us the room keys and stopped us from getting inside the Games village. We somehow arranged to pay $50,000 and then submitted an undertaking."
TimesofIndia.com has now accessed an official letter written by Mr. Gursharan Singh to the Director of the Indonesia Para Games Organising Committee on October 2, a day after these reports first appeared in the Indian media. In the letter, Mr. Singh, in reference to the media reports about the Indian contingent not being allowed entry into the athletes' village states that he regrets the news that was reported, because "the same is not based on facts but in order to gain the attention of the Indian public at large". He also goes on to write, " In this regard, I as the 'Chef de Mission' of the Indian contingent certify and declare that we got all the cooperation and support from the Organising Committee and there has not been any such issues, which have been published today (ie 02/10/2018) in the Indian media. I further compliment the gesture and understanding of the Organising Committee in the above matter by accommodating smooth entry of the Indian teams in Para Games village."
So if the Indian contingent did have 'smooth entry' into the village, why were the earlier statements made? It's quite clear now perhaps that after the media reports first appeared, thanks to the statement made by Mr. Gursharan Singh, the Organising Committee of the Asian Para Games demanded an explanation. The letter that was sent to the Organising Committee, written on a Pralaympic Committtee of India letterhead was more of a formal apology. Is this then another example of officials continuing to treat sports as their personal fiefdom?
Over the last few years, Indian Para athletes have begun to perform exceedingly well on the international stage. It's mostly a result of extensive exposure as far as their training needs are concerned. Para athletes are being given continuous support through the year. Four new training centres are also being built around the country for para athletes.
The prize money awarded by the Government to the Para athletes for a particular event has been brought at par with the same event for able-bodied athletes, as per a recommendation by the Olympic Task Force.
At the Asian Para Games itself, India won a whopping 72 medals, including 15 gold, 24 silver, 33 bronze. India finished ninth in the overall medals tally. This was India's best ever performance at the Para Asian Games.
While the athletes continue to make the country proud, the actions of the officials have once again left a sour taste in the mouth.
In fact Paralympic Committee of India Vice President Gursharan Singh, who was also the Indian Chef de Mission told PTI at that time from Jakarta, "Unlike the Asian Games held in August, the participating teams for the Para Games will have to make payments for accommodation, competition, registration, among others. Each country will have to pay for accommodation of its athletes at the Games Village, pay competition and registration fee, etc. So, we have to pay around USD 2.5 lakh for the contingent of around 300. We came here without the funds and we had problems in going into the Games Village."
"We had to give an undertaking that we will pay the amount by October 4. If we do not make the payment, we may be told to vacate our accommodation at the Games Village," he added.
Mr Singh also spoke to Times of India on the matter from Jakarta at that time and said," The organisers have not got the money, so they are asking for it. They refused to give us the room keys and stopped us from getting inside the Games village. We somehow arranged to pay $50,000 and then submitted an undertaking."
TimesofIndia.com has now accessed an official letter written by Mr. Gursharan Singh to the Director of the Indonesia Para Games Organising Committee on October 2, a day after these reports first appeared in the Indian media. In the letter, Mr. Singh, in reference to the media reports about the Indian contingent not being allowed entry into the athletes' village states that he regrets the news that was reported, because "the same is not based on facts but in order to gain the attention of the Indian public at large". He also goes on to write, " In this regard, I as the 'Chef de Mission' of the Indian contingent certify and declare that we got all the cooperation and support from the Organising Committee and there has not been any such issues, which have been published today (ie 02/10/2018) in the Indian media. I further compliment the gesture and understanding of the Organising Committee in the above matter by accommodating smooth entry of the Indian teams in Para Games village."
So if the Indian contingent did have 'smooth entry' into the village, why were the earlier statements made? It's quite clear now perhaps that after the media reports first appeared, thanks to the statement made by Mr. Gursharan Singh, the Organising Committee of the Asian Para Games demanded an explanation. The letter that was sent to the Organising Committee, written on a Pralaympic Committtee of India letterhead was more of a formal apology. Is this then another example of officials continuing to treat sports as their personal fiefdom?
Over the last few years, Indian Para athletes have begun to perform exceedingly well on the international stage. It's mostly a result of extensive exposure as far as their training needs are concerned. Para athletes are being given continuous support through the year. Four new training centres are also being built around the country for para athletes.
The prize money awarded by the Government to the Para athletes for a particular event has been brought at par with the same event for able-bodied athletes, as per a recommendation by the Olympic Task Force.
At the Asian Para Games itself, India won a whopping 72 medals, including 15 gold, 24 silver, 33 bronze. India finished ninth in the overall medals tally. This was India's best ever performance at the Para Asian Games.
While the athletes continue to make the country proud, the actions of the officials have once again left a sour taste in the mouth.
Source : timesofindia[dot]indiatimes[dot]com
No comments:
Post a Comment