Lovlina’s coach gets access to Village, venues
A day after woman boxer Lovlina Borgohain complained of “mental harassment” because officials didn’t accept the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist’s request for issuing accreditation for her personal coach, the issue was sorted out in Birmingham.
Sandhya Gurung, Borgohain’s personal coach, received her CWG accreditation on Tuesday that will allow her access into the athletes’ Village and competition venues.
Borgohain, India’s medal prospect in 70kg, had said the treatment of Gurung was affecting her preparation for CWG, saying: “I’m facing harassment. Every time my coaches who helped me to win an Olympic medal are removed from my training and competition,” Borgohain had said in a social media statement on Monday.
Following this, the union sports minister Anurag Thakur asked the Indian Olympic Association to sort out the issue and ensure Gurung got her accreditation. “Sandhya was brought to the Village today and given accreditation. She is with the team now,” PTI quoted an IOA official as saying on Tuesday.
Gurung, an assistant coach in the national camp who Borgohain credits with guiding her through a tough phase in the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics, was with the boxer during a camp in Ireland in preparation for Birmingham, but was initially not included among the list of accredited coaches.
IOA acting president, Anil Khanna, had said the request for Gurung’s accreditation was received late. “We received the request late and now we are doing whatever we can to get her accreditation,” he said from Birmingham on Monday.
Borgohain had blamed the Boxing Federation of India for keeping her personal coach out of national camps and major tournaments. It learnt she even had to request BFI officials many times to get Gurung included for the Ireland camp. A person aware of the matter said on Monday that Borgohain faced a tough time to get her coach in the camp after the Olympics.
Gurung works as coach with Sikkim’s sports department and needs clearance to join the camp. That is often delayed because of BFI’s approach, the person said.
Boxing competitions at Birmingham start on Friday and run until August 7.
Covid hits cricket team
S Meghana and Pooja Vastrakar tested positive for Covid-19 and stayed back in the country ahead of the side’s opener on Friday against Australia. “Both players can only join the team once they test negative.” The second game is against arch-rivals Pakistan on July 31 and final league match against Barbados on August 3. All games, including the final, will be played at Edgbaston.