
On Monday (July 25), boxer Lovlina Borgohain made heads turn when the 24-year-old Olympic medallist claimed that her coachSandhya Gurung was denied entry at the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG) village and got granted accreditation; denting his training and practice before the showpiece event in Birmingham which gets underway on July 29.
WhileThe Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports stepped in and urged the Indian Olympic Association that accreditation be given to Lovlina's coach at the earliest, another Indian athlete has shared of not getting adequate helpgoing into the marqueeevent. India's wrestler Bajrang Punia -- who claimed a bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 -- has come forward and slammed the officials for his physio's non-inclusion. He has pointed out that the IOA has not granted an United Kingdom (UK) visa to his physio, who was with him for training in the United States of America (USA) as well. In addition, Bajrang further exposed IOA officials' lacklustre approach by revealing that he has spoken to them, however,nothing has been done to solve the issue as yet.
It is to be noted that Bajrang will be stepping into the forthcoming CWG 2022 edition after having just recovered from a serious knee injury, includinga lengthy rehabilitation process. However, the 28-year-old'spersonal coach Sujeet Mann is already part of the contingent that is set to fly to Birmingham.
Earlier today, the Indian contingent were dealt with a huge blow as javelin star Neeraj Chopra got ruled out of thequadrennial event due to a groin injury. Thus, the onus now firmly lies on the likes of Bajrang, Lovlina, PV Sindhu, India's hockey contingent, women's cricket team, etc.