All hell broke loose for the&nbsp;Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) treasurer&nbsp;and Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association secretary&nbsp;Anandeshwar Pandey when a&nbsp;plethora of images of him in a compromising position with multiple women emerged&nbsp;online.

As a result,&nbsp;a complaint was filed against Pandey — a former national-level runner — on the Chief Minister's portal, with a copy&nbsp;being sent to the district magistrate.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/aiff-write-to-fifa-requesting-to-lift-ban-after-supreme-court-dissolves-committee-of-administrators-509699">AIFF writes to FIFA, requesting to lift ban after Supreme Court dissolves Committee of Administrators</a>

Lucknow Regional Sports Officer Ajay Sethi&nbsp;asked Pandey for an explanation via a letter where he&nbsp;wrote, "Anandeshwar Pandey is staying in the KD Singh&nbsp;'Babu' Stadium in Lucknow, beside which there is a girls' hostel. The viral photos showing him in a compromising position are bringing a bad name to Uttar Pradesh."

Nonetheless, Pandey has opened up on the whole controversy and has denied all allegations, calling them baseless and a political conspiracy to demean and defame him. Pandey&nbsp;told&nbsp;The Bridge, "Somebody is out to defame me. I have made a complaint against unnamed individuals, but this is a political conspiracy and there must be a big person's hand behind it."

"If any of the athletes who come to train ever complains against me, hang me. I will kill myself. I have been in sports since the 1970s, there has never been any such incident," he added.

After such a strong response from the IOA treasurer, it remains to be seen what unfolds further in the controversy, which has certainly brought a lot of shame for Pandey.

All hell broke loose for the Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) treasurer and Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association secretary Anandeshwar Pandey when a plethora of images of him in a compromising position with multiple women emerged online.

All hell broke loose for the Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) treasurer and Uttar Pradesh Olympic Association secretary Anandeshwar Pandey when a plethora of images of him in a compromising position with multiple women emerged online. As a result, a complaint was filed against Pandey — a former national-level runner — on the Chief Minister's portal, with a copy being sent to the district magistrate. ALSO READ | AIFF writes to FIFA, requesting to lift ban after Supreme Court dissolves Committee of Administrators Lucknow Regional Sports Officer Ajay Sethi asked Pandey for an explanation via a letter where he wrote, "Anandeshwar Pandey is staying in the KD Singh 'Babu' Stadium in Lucknow, beside which there is a girls' hostel. The viral photos showing him in a compromising position are bringing a bad name to Uttar Pradesh." Nonetheless, Pandey has opened up on the whole controversy and has denied all allegations, calling them baseless and a political conspiracy to demean and defame him. Pandey told The Bridge, "Somebody is out to defame me. I have made a complaint against unnamed individuals, but this is a political conspiracy and there must be a big person's hand behind it." "If any of the athletes who come to train ever complains against me, hang me. I will kill myself. I have been in sports since the 1970s, there has never been any such incident," he added. After such a strong response from the IOA treasurer, it remains to be seen what unfolds further in the controversy, which has certainly brought a lot of shame for Pandey.

'Hang me, I will kill myself...' - UP Olympic Association secretary slams baseless allegations

India is famously crazy about cricket, but that sporting fever doesn&rsquo;t carry over to the Olympics. Despite its enormous population, India&rsquo;s TV ratings for the 2008 Beijing Olympics were the world&rsquo;s third lowest. But sometimes it&rsquo;s not about how many fans you make, but who they are. 
 
Ayonika Paul is a 23-year-old shooter from Mumbai. Paul couldn&rsquo;t wait for Rio 2016 to start, where she&rsquo;s competing in her first ever Olympics. But the Games didn&rsquo;t always get her excited. 
 
&ldquo;Truly speaking, I never watched Olympic Games on television except in 2012,&rdquo; she admits. &nbsp;Here in India she was hardly alone, and who could blame her? India had only won 13 medals in the ten Olympics before Beijing 2012. 
 
So how did Paul and the Olympics come together? &ldquo;At the beginning it was completely on my parents, right from equipment, ammunition, travel, coaching, accommodation, et cetera. Coming from a sports background my parents totally accepted my love and craze for this sport.&rdquo; Support and passion: the two ingredients all future Olympians have before they make it. 
 
In her youth, Paul showed obvious promise competing against seniors in World Cups while still a junior. That&rsquo;s how she got discovered.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;After four years, Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ, an Indian talent scout) took me under their wing, and since then OGQ has funded my training.&rdquo; But this is where Paul experienced a setback. She had been fortunate, but agonizingly, not quite enough. 
 
&ldquo;Of course had it been a bit earlier, I would have made it in the 2012 Olympics, too. I missed the quota by only 0.1.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
Watching the Olympics on TV instead of competing in them couldn&lsquo;t have been easy, but rather than feel sorry for herself she got to work. 
 
&ldquo;In 2012, I realised I needed a foreign trainer with advanced know-how...now I am seeing the results.&rdquo; 
 
Her story is rare. Most Indians don&rsquo;t go from being oblivious about the Olympics Games to competing in them. Many Olympians enjoy knowing their whole country is watching them. Indian Olympians can&rsquo;t expect this attention, but Paul would appreciate more government backing. 
 
&ldquo;It would not only support me in small expenses, but also show me that India has hopes on me, and hence boost me to be better and better. It would show support from the nation.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
What athlete wouldn&rsquo;t be grateful for the support of the country? She would love to know India has her back, but one way or the other, &nbsp;Ayonika Paul just wants to win. 
 
&ldquo;Anyway,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;I will continue practicing to march toward the podium.&rdquo;&nbsp; 
 
The podium is, after all, a much better vantage point to watch the Olympics from than the couch. 
&nbsp; 
Paul deserves to have India watch her accomplish this rare leap. And who knows: one Indian out there watching the 2016 Olympics on TV might just one day become India&rsquo;s next Ayonika Paul. 
 
(WION) 
&nbsp;

Paul admits she didn't watch the Olympics growing up, but things are different now that she's competing in them

India is famously crazy about cricket, but that sporting fever doesn’t carry over to the Olympics. Despite its enormous population, India’s TV ratings for the 2008 Beijing Olympics were the world’s third lowest. But sometimes it’s not about how many fans you make, but who they are. Ayonika Paul is a 23-year-old shooter from Mumbai. Paul couldn’t wait for Rio 2016 to start, where she’s competing in her first ever Olympics. But the Games didn’t always get her excited. “Truly speaking, I never watched Olympic Games on television except in 2012,” she admits. Here in India she was hardly alone, and who could blame her? India had only won 13 medals in the ten Olympics before Beijing 2012. So how did Paul and the Olympics come together? “At the beginning it was completely on my parents, right from equipment, ammunition, travel, coaching, accommodation, et cetera. Coming from a sports background my parents totally accepted my love and craze for this sport.” Support and passion: the two ingredients all future Olympians have before they make it. In her youth, Paul showed obvious promise competing against seniors in World Cups while still a junior. That’s how she got discovered. “After four years, Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ, an Indian talent scout) took me under their wing, and since then OGQ has funded my training.” But this is where Paul experienced a setback. She had been fortunate, but agonizingly, not quite enough. “Of course had it been a bit earlier, I would have made it in the 2012 Olympics, too. I missed the quota by only 0.1.” Watching the Olympics on TV instead of competing in them couldn‘t have been easy, but rather than feel sorry for herself she got to work. “In 2012, I realised I needed a foreign trainer with advanced know-how...now I am seeing the results.” Her story is rare. Most Indians don’t go from being oblivious about the Olympics Games to competing in them. Many Olympians enjoy knowing their whole country is watching them. Indian Olympians can’t expect this attention, but Paul would appreciate more government backing. “It would not only support me in small expenses, but also show me that India has hopes on me, and hence boost me to be better and better. It would show support from the nation.” What athlete wouldn’t be grateful for the support of the country? She would love to know India has her back, but one way or the other, Ayonika Paul just wants to win. “Anyway,” she says, “I will continue practicing to march toward the podium.” The podium is, after all, a much better vantage point to watch the Olympics from than the couch. Paul deserves to have India watch her accomplish this rare leap. And who knows: one Indian out there watching the 2016 Olympics on TV might just one day become India’s next Ayonika Paul. (WION)

Rio Olympics 2016: Talking with Indian shooter, Ayonika Paul

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'Hang me, I will kill myself...' - UP Olympic Association secretary slams baseless allegations

Rio Olympics 2016: Talking with Indian shooter, Ayonika Paul