Lovlina Borgohain alleges mental harassment ahead of CWG 2022, IOA responds

Indian Boxing star and Olympic Medallist Lovlina Borgohain noted that she is being ‘mentally harassed ahead of Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

The boxer, who hails from Assam noted this in a tweet last day and claimed that she was not allowed to have her coach Sandhya Gurung at the Games.

“It is with great regret that I am informing you that I am constantly getting harassed due to the removal of my coaches. The constant removal of my coaches, who have helped me win the Olympics medal for my country, is affecting my training process for the competition,” Lovlina wrote on her Twitter page last day.

She further went on to add that her coach did not get entry into the Commonwealth Games Village.

“One of them is Sandhya Gurungji, a Dronacharya awardee. Both my coaches have to request countless times, even in training camps, before they are included at the last moment. At this moment, my coach Sandhya Gurung is not even in the Commonwealth Games Village as she still hasn’t gotten entry and my training process has stalled just 8 days before the games. My second coach has also been sent back to India,” Lovlina added.

She concluded by saying that the whole situation has put a mental toll on her.

“Even after requesting so much, this still happened and this has caused me mental harassment. I don’t understand how I will focus on my game if this persists. This is the reason why my performance was not up to the mark in the World Championships and I don’t want this politics to ruin my CWG chances. I hope I can break free of the shackles of this politics and bring medals for my country,” she concluded.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has released an official statement regarding the issue. You can see the statement which was received by LockerRoom below.

“The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has taken cognisance of the concern raised by team India boxer Ms. Lovlina Borgohain on social media regarding her coach Sandhya Gurung's accreditation at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The matter of Ms. Gurung's accreditation was a late request received following the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee's Delegation Registration Meeting with the national delegations. However, given the 10A places the convenience of the Indian athletes at the highest level, a special request has been made to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee on a priority basis to provide Ms. Gurung with the requisite accreditation.

This decision was arrived at through a special meeting convened by the IOA's Acting President, Mr. Anil Khanna, the IOA Treasurer Mr. Anandeshwar Panday, along with Team India's Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Chef de Mission, Mr. Rajesh Bhandari, and its General Team Managers, Mr. Maninder Pal Singh and Mr. Prashant Khushwaha, in Birmingham.”

Lovlina Boroghain is hands down one of the top medal prospects for India at the Commonwealth Games and was the first Assamese athlete to represent India at the Olympics.

What do you think of the whole development? Let us know in the comments below.

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