Sports min assures full support to Olympic hopefuls after Sodhi incident

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk,SportsCafe Editor

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Union sports minister, Sarbananda Sonowal has promised to look into ace shooter, Ronjan Sodhi’s incident, saying he will ensure that a positive environment is created for sportspersons. Sodhi, a double World Cup winner and ex-world record holder in double-trap, had been left to fend for himself as he trains at his own expense in Italy for next month’s final Olympic qualifier.

“We are always there to support our athletes. That's why we have started this particular scheme (Target Olympic Podium). We will look into the matter. We will never create an environment where players have an embarrassing situation,” said Sonowal, while asserting the ministry’s commitment in backing sportspersons. “This is a very serious matter. We will put our everything to help out our players.”

Sodhi, a 2013 Khel Ratna awardee and 2016 Rio Olympics medal hopeful, had said that he was denied training funds despite receiving sanction from the same ministry.

“I was sanctioned about 30 days of training in August. Two days before I was scheduled to leave I got a call saying my personal coach has not been authorised to travel with me. I asked Mr Vivek Narayan, director, sports, for the reason and he said: ‘mera time naa barbaad karo, tumhe toh abroad bhej rahe hain na’,” Sodhi had told Indian media.

Sodhi will be competing in the Asian Shooting Championship in Kuwait starting November 1. It is the last qualifying event in shooting for the Rio Olympics.

“This is a crucial period for me and my schedule has been thrown completely off track. If the ministry doesn’t want to give funding, they can always say no in the first place. Athletes can’t be promised a certain sanction only for it to be cancelled at the last moment. My coach has been in Italy for over a week and I’m financing my own tickets and leaving now. The issue isn’t about me – no athlete should be subjected to this kind of treatment. Every bit of the funding for my training had been approved by the Sports Ministry,” said Sodhi. 

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