Boxers, Coaches Participating in Nationals Told to Vacate Accommodation, Left in Freezing Cold
New Delhi: Several boxers, coaches and support staff members of teams participating in the Elite National Boxing Championships in Greater Noida were told to vacate their accommodation on the penultimate day of the tournament, which resulted in many of them being left out in the cold.
The various teams participating in the boxing nationals said that their bags were put outside their rooms and they after hotels and lodges told them that their were asked to vacate their accommodation had been booked till Friday (January 9) only, reported Indian Express.
“Immediate steps have been taken to ensure that the affected athletes have been accommodated at the nearest facility at GB University, where suitable sleeping arrangements have been made for the night. The Federation is closely monitoring the situation,” said the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) in a statement issued after the incident.
By the time the BFI made the new arrangements, many contingents had to spend several hours in the freezing cold on an evening when temperatures hovered around 6-7 degree Celsius. The Indian Express reported that some teams didn’t get accommodation till the time the newspaper went to the press.
Some of the teams which faced accommodation problems included teams from Telangana, Kerala, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh.
“This happened around 7:30 pm when we returned from the boxing venue. Our players, along with coaches, were asked to vacate the premises saying it was booked only till today. We are still standing outside the hostel and haven’t got any alternative for our stay,” ,” a coach told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity.
“We have a boxer playing in the final tomorrow. This is a situation where we don’t know what to do. We got a little late as we were having dinner. This is not an isolated incident, we faced something similar last night around 8 pm,” another coach told the newspaper.
As per the prospectus of the boxing nationals says, “Free Lodging & Boarding will be provided to boxers and officials by the organisers.”
The anger was palpable among the teams and officials when they found that their accommodation was not booked for the whole duration of the tournament.
“What can we do at the moment? It is the basic duty of the organisers to book the accommodation for the traveling teams for the whole duration of the event. More than anything, we are worried about the boxers who are distressed in this situation,” said another team official.
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
