Seema Punia slams sports ministry for not considering her name for the TOP scheme
After clinching the gold for discus throw at the Federation Cup, India athlete Seema Punia slammed the Indian sports ministry after they overlooked her for the TOP scheme. Punia has taken the ‘Right to Information’ route in order to get the recognition she deserves from the governing body.
Discus thrower Seema Antil-Punia qualified for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on the opening day of the 22nd Federation Cup Athletics on Monday. She fought her way all the way to the top as she managed to clinch gold in the competition. But instead of being overjoyed and full of positive words, the Indian athlete went on a rant against the Indian sports ministry regarding the Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme and also the Rs 50,000 monthly allowance given to certain athletes to prepare for multi-sport events.
Punia argued that despite her recent achievements in the past few years or so, the sports governing body have refused to consider her for the TOP scheme this year, which according to her is simply unacceptable. Seema has been ignored by the concerned authorities because she allegedly failed a dope test for a drug called ‘pseudoephedrine’ during the World junior athletics championships in 2001 in the South American country of Chile.
“I have always been rejected for financial assistance and government awards owing to my alleged doping past. My application for Arjuna was rejected several times. But, I want to know from the authorities when was I banned? There is no evidence. I am already fighting a court case on this issue,” said Seema as per TOI reports.
Her gold at the Federation Cup Athletics on Monday gave Punia added confidence to lash out at the ministry and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for having ignored her requests in the past. Punia has taken the ‘Right For Information’ path in order to wage a battle against the governing bodies for sports in India.
“In 2017, my performance went down because I was recovering from a knee injury. AFI didn’t recommend me for the TOP scheme. The ministry too didn’t include my name in the list of athletes getting monthly allowances. But what about the performance in all those years when I won CWG and Asian Games medals?” Punia argued.
Seema could be making sense but it could also be debated that there’s no proof to show her offence in the record books of the National Anti-Doping Agency. Since the WADA-accredited National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) began in 2008, the records prior to that were not available for cross-checking.
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