good luck to her and others for future meets.
At 06:12 AM 7/12/2017 +0000, you wrote:
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indian-para-athlete-forced-to-beg-borrow-money-in-berlin/1/1000016.html
Ignored by authorities, Indian para-athlete forced to beg, borrow
money in Berlin
Kanchanmala Pande, one of five Indian para-athletes in Germany to
take part in the Para Swimming Championships, was forced to beg and
borrow money after
the money sanctioned by the government for the swimmers' tour did
not reach them.
Mail Today Bureau
| Posted by Dev Goswami
New Delhi, July 12, 2017 | UPDATED 05:57 IST
A +
A -
Kanchanmala Pande
HIGHLIGHTS
list of 3 items
1
Lapses on part of India's sport authorities left a group of
para-athletes without money in Berlin.
2
One of the para-athletes was forced to beg and borrow money.
3
She went on to win a silver medal in the Para Swimming Championships.
list end
As a para-athlete, Kanchanmala Pande knows well how to swim against
the tide. But this time, she was left high and dry by India's sports
authorities.
Nagpur-based Kanchanmala, who is completely sightless and swims in
the S11 category, had to face extreme misery during her trip to
Berlin because of alleged
slip-ups by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI).
She and five others participating in the Para Swimming Championships
in the German capital from July 3-9 had a harrowing time as the
government money sanctioned
for their tour did not reach them.
In the end, Kanchanmala had to beg and borrow money in an unfamiliar
city. The PCI, however, has blamed the Sports Authority of India for the lapse.
But the situation failed to deter the athletes' fierce
determination. Despite all odds, Kanchanmala and Suyash Jadhav won
silver medals and qualified for
the World Championships.
Kanchanmala, 26, beat the qualifying mark in 100m Freestyle
(1:34:00), 100m Backstroke (1:41:00), 100m Breaststroke (2:01:00)
and 200m Individual Medley
(3:03:00), in which she also picked up a silver medal. She became
the only female swimmer from India to qualify for the World Para
Swimming Championships
this year.
The sportspersons have been inspired by India's remarkable show at
the Rio Paralympics last year, where the country posted its
best-ever performance by
winning two golds, a silver and a bronze.
'NEVER THOUGHT WOULD FACE SUCH PROBLEMS'
Kanchanmala and her escort Jaimala Pande were part of the Berlin
contingent that was granted sponsorship by the government. However,
the PCI failed to
provide her the money and she was forced to bear her hotel and food expenses.
"I never thought I would face such problems. I had to take a loan of
Rs 5 lakh so that I could participate in the tournament. I had to
qualify for the
World Championships and I don't know why PCI didn't understand its
importance," Kanchamala, who is also an assistant with the Reserve
Bank of India in
Nagpur, told Mail Today.
"I was not given any official confirmation if I will receive a
reimbursement for the expense I bore. I had to pay around Rs 70,000
for the hotel and more
than Rs 40,000 for food. There was a time when I had no money left.
I was simply devastated. Moreover, they put my name in 50m
Backstroke when it was never
my event. I had to write letters to the International Paralympic
Committee when a coach was appointed to take care of the swimmers."
The swimmers were also asked to arrange their visas, which cost her
additional Rs 15,000. To add to the misery, Kanchanmala, who won a
bronze at the 2011
World Para Games, was shocked to see that the PCI had registered her
in the 50m Backstroke event when she had actually applied for the
100m Backstroke.
'HORROR SHOW'
In her own words, Kanchanmala's Europe trip was no less than a
"horror show". The coach Kanchanmala refers to is Kanwaljeet Singh,
the man sent by the
PCI to assist the para-swimmers.
Singh was allegedly of almost no help, often going missing during
the main events while also going to the extent of asking for 90
pounds (Rs 7,462) as
participation fee.
"He (Singh) didn't help me at all. I used to go back to the hotel
just with my escort and god knows where he used to be. Once, I took
a tram from the tournament
venue to my hotel and I had no money. I had to travel without ticket
and was caught by the checker who later fined me 120 pounds (about
Rs 10,000)," Kanchanmala
said.
"He (Singh) asked for participation fee from me when it should be
PCI paying for all of this. Even though he paid the fee later, I had
a very rough time
with him. A coach should be helpful and always take care of
athletes. I didn't see any of that."
BLAME GAME
However, PCI vice-president Gurucharan Singh maintained that the
Sports Authority of India (SAI) had not sanctioned the amount for
the tournament while
also saying that the swimmers will be refunded their money.
"We are facing problems from with SAI regarding sanction of amount
for championships. The money for swimming championship in Berlin
didn't come on time
and as the process takes around 3-4 days, we weren't able to provide
it to the swimmers," he said.
"I am here in London for the World Athletics Championship and we are
also facing a problem of shortage of money. SAI sanctioned just
40,000 pounds (Rs
33.16 lakh) while the organisers are asking for 80,000 pounds (Rs
66.32 lakh). We will hold meetings with SAI officials to discuss
this matter. So, a fix
to all this will be done once the London meet is over. I assure you,
the swimmers will be given back their money. As for the coach
problem, I am not aware
of it. As soon as I get back to India, we will talk to the swimmers
and will carry out an inquiry if needed."
Despite the frustrations, Kanchanmala fulfilled her dream to qualify
for her second World Championship and wants to put all this behind
as she aims for
more glory in the September meet.
"I hope a repeat of this will not happen in the future," she said.
"Athletes, especially the disabled, are meant to be treated with
respect and such incidents
shouldn't be tolerated. Now that I have qualified, I want to train
hard and win medals. I am getting to my best and with proper
guidance and training,
hope to have a successful campaign in Mexico."
-----Original Message-----
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