Olympian boxer Lovlina Borgohain alleges 'mental harassment' ahead of C’wealth Games

Lovlina's coach Sandhya Gurung denied entry in Games Village in Birmingham 

By: Nanda K Dewan 

Guwahati July 25: Olympics Bronze medalist and star boxer from Assam Lovlina Borgohain has made serious  allegations of ‘mental harassment’ by the Boxing Federation of India after her coach Sandhya Gurung was denied entry to train her at the Games village in Birmingham, the venue of Commonwealth Games 2022. The 24-year-old medal hope boxer for the country alleged that her practice just 4 days ahead of the Games has been affected, with the coaching schedule disrupted because of entry being denied to her coach Sandhya Gurung in the Games village where she is training.

Expressing her resentment on Twitter, the ace pugilist wrote, “Every time my coaches, who helped me win a medal at the Olympics, have been removed from my training process and competition. One of these coaches, Sandhya Gurung ji, is also a Dronacharya awardee. Despite thousands of requests, they are always allowed late for my training. This hampers my training, and puts me through a lot of hardships and mental harassment.”

“Now, my coach Sandhya Gurung ji is out of the Commonwealth village, as she is not allowed entry, and my training has been brought to a halt eight days before the games. My other coach has been sent back to India, despite multiple requests by me. I don’t understand how I am supposed to focus on my game. This situation ruined my performance during the last world championships as well. I don’t want this politics to ruin my Commonwealth Games too. I hope I can break through this politics and win a medal for my country. Jai Hind,” she posted. Lovlina, who became the first Assamese female to represent India at the Olympics, is currently practicing for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, scheduled from July 28 to August 8. Lovlina’s coach Sandhya Gurung reached Birmingham on Sunday night, from Ireland, where she was training.

Speaking exclusively from Birmingham to national awarding winning young Sikkimese journalist Pankaj Dhungel, Indian women boxing coach Sandhya Gurung, who trained Lovlina Borgahain, shared, “What she has mentioned is before I was not with the team so it was justified to be denied. But this time I am with the team. So what Lovlina has raised is understandable. I have valid accreditation as the coach, hence I should not be stopped. They are saying it will work out by this evening. There are other coaches, and we are staying in a different hotel. It is only that I am not being allowed to go and stay with the players. We cannot meet the players as I don’t have accreditation for that yet.” It appears that the trouble of entry is only being faced by Sandhya Gurung.

She stated, “For now the error is only with me, there are 3 coaches for the men’s team and there are two others for women apart from me. I am here for the women’s team. Among the three of us, I am the only one denied as I am without an accreditation card”. In her statement Gurung claimed that Lovlina is angry because she couldn’t train in the morning on Monday, just 4 days before the tournament.

“We were in Ireland and we reached here last night. The training was ongoing in Ireland, for four days we are to train here before the Games begin on July 29. We were to train in the morning but that didn’t happen hence she has reacted,” Gurung added. 

Our attempts to contact Hemanta Kalita, secretary of Boxing Federation of India (BFI) failed. However he told  leading sports magazine 'Sports Star' that the federation tried to get accreditation for Lovlina’s coach Sandhya Gurung but wasn’t successful. "The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) allotted 25 percent officials on the total number of athletes. We have 12 athletes, so we got four officials. After that, we made a request and got another four. This includes coaches, a doctor, physio, etc. We put Sandhya Gurung’s name in the long list, we requested for her inclusion, the SAI also sanctioned her name, but the IOA is not doing it,” Kalita told Sport Star magazine. Interestingly, secretary of Boxing Federation of India (BFI) Hemanta Kalita also hails from Assam.

Lovlina's tweet was in composed in English language but the matter was in Hindi so that the common sports enthusiasts of the nation could understand, feel Lovlina's fans. Her tweet has spread like a forest fire with several digital, national and international media picking up the story. Sports enthusiasts have commented, 'it is how we treat an Olympian medalist boxer, imagine what a beginner goes through'. Netizens have sought immediate intervention of Union Youth Affairs and Sports minister Anurag Thakur and current Law Minister Kiren Rijiju who was earlier the sports minister. Sikkim has shown equal concern for their daughter Sandhya who has been coaching Lovlina since inception and is hopeful that the matter will be addressed within a day and appealed intervention of highest authorities concerned.