2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist Abhinav Bindra let out his frustrations on Twitter following the recent fiasco in Berlin faced by para-athlete Kanchanmala Pande.
A shocking incident took place in the German capital a few days ago, one in which Pande was forced to beg and borrow to support her stay while representing India at the swimming championships in the city. The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) had neglected bearing expenses for the athletes who were forced to take loans in order to make ends meet.
Despite this, Kanchanmala won silver at the event and qualified for the World Championships. Bindra’s tweet indicates his disapproval of the incident.
In his tweet, the shooter highlighted the incident and said that it raises a question on athlete management in the country. He further went on to make a viable suggestion and marked it to Sports Minister Vijay Goel. Bindra suggested that a helpline must be made available to all athletes who head abroad to represent their country.
He earmarked helplines as the way for troubled athletes to express their concerns to the ministry and added that a contingency fund must be available at all times to support the athletes during times of need.
The tweet garnered a lot of attention on social media and prominent names such as Boria Majumdar chimed in with advice. Majumdar lauded the suggestion by Bindra and added that Indian athletes should be informed about external situations before being sent on international trips.
He then asked if Vijay Goel was listening, to which the Sports Minister replied, “I am.” The response from the government official prompted a final plea by Majumdar where he urged the ministry to professionalise sports federations and introduce better systems and structures.
One hopes that the necessary steps will be taken to avoid a repeat of this unfortunate mishap.
