Sports ministry takes note of Lovlina Borgohain's angry tweet; boxing federation ‘closely working’ with IOA

The Ministry of Sports was quick to take note of the allegations made by Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain against the authorities for derailing her preparations for the Commonwealth Games. Responding to Lovlina's tweet, the sports body said it has directed the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to arrange the accreditation for her coach Sandhya Gurung. “We have urged the Indian Olympic Association to immediately arrange for the accreditation of the coach of Lovlina Borgohain,” the tweet read.

The Indian boxing squad arrived at the Games Village in Birmingham on Sunday night, following a 15-day training camp in Ireland. However, Lovlina's personal coach Sandhya Gurung was not allowed entry after she failed to produce an accreditation.

Angered with the prevailing situation, Lovlina then took to Twitter and shared her plight in a long post written in Hindi.

As per a report in PTI on Monday evening, Gurung, an assistant coach in the national camp, was a last-minute addition in the Indian contingent. She was stuck at the airport and had to check in to the hotel where the extra officials are lodging.

Meanwhile, a statement released by the Boxing Federation of India in this regard read: "Only 33% of the playing contingent is allowed as Support Staff which in BFI’s case for the 12 boxers (8 men and 4 women) stands to be 4 support staff, (including coaches) who were to travel with the Team to Burmingham.

"The requirements of boxing with respect to coaches and support staff is a little different as there are multiple bouts, which could be one after another. The IOA understood BFI’s point of view and therefore, extended help with maximum possible additional support staff. With IOA’s help the number of support staff went up from 4 to 8 for the entire contingent of 12 boxers.

“Boxing Federation of India ensured that Sandhya Gurung was at the training camp in Ireland. BFI is closely working with IOA so that Sandhya Gurung could be a part of the team in Birmingham. In the meanwhile, delegate transport and accommodation at ETO’s hotel has been already provided to her."

Gurung is one of the leading figures behind the meteoric rise in Lovlina's boxing graph. Working behind the scenes, Gurung crafted an aggressive Lovlina into a more technical boxer. “Sandhya ma'am played a big role because in 2016 when I took part in my first senior nationals, I lost in my first bout. Even prior to that whenever I took part in international competitions, be it youth or sub-junior, I could not perform very well. I used to train a lot but I was not able to perform well. I was not technically strong in the ring. I used to think I need to attack, never thought that I can play with my brains too but when I met Sandhya ma'am, she taught me boxing is not all about strength. We need to think, use our tactics, how to anticipate the opponent's next move and plan accordingly,” Lovlina told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interaction earlier this year.

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