New Delhi . Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha has raised questions against the IOA Executive Committee (EC) members for not organizing a felicitation ceremony for Indian athletes who won medals at the Paris Olympics.
India won a total of six medals (1 silver and 5 bronze) at the Paris Olympics. Pistol shooter Manu Bhaker became the first Indian woman to win a medal in shooting at the Olympics. Additionally, she also became the first Indian athlete to win more than one medal in a single edition of the Olympic Games.
The IOA chief wrote in a letter, “I am proud that I was able to help Manu in this journey. It is a matter of pride for me that we also had medals from Neeraj Chopra, Sarabjot Singh, Swapnil Kusale and the men's hockey team, But the Executive Committee (EC) does not want to celebrate their success, which makes me very sad.”
He also revealed that before leaving for Paris, a sum of Rs 2 lakh was proposed to be given to each Olympicqualified athlete and Rs 1 lakh to each coach, while he claimed that it was approved by the Finance Committee and IOA Treasurer Sahdev Yadav. Had stopped.
“I am confident that this would have provided our athletes and their coaches with the support they need during this critical period leading up to the Olympic Games. The refusal to distribute these items reflects a lack of understanding of the athletes' needs,” the letter read. “
The IOA chief said that this happened due to the noncooperation of the executive committee. When India won seven medals at the Tokyo Olympics, despite challenging circumstances due to the COVID19 pandemic, a felicitation ceremony was held under the previous leadership.
If we could celebrate the achievements of our athletes during the global pandemic, who is stopping current EC members from doing the same? These medal winners have worked tirelessly to bring honor to our country and they deserve praise.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.