'Shocked, Didn't Receive any Money', says Olympian Ashwini Ponnappa on SAI Claim of Providing 1.5 cr

New Delhi: Indian doubles badminton player and Olympian Ashwini Ponnappa said on Tuesday (August 13) that she received little to no individual financial assistance from the sports ministry in the run up to Paris Olympics.

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The doubles star said that even her request for a coach was denied ahead of the tournament, reported Business Standard.

Earlier. the Sports Authority of India (SAI) had released a document, detailing the financial support provided to the Paris-bound Indian athletes.

The SAI document says that Ponnappa was provided Rs 4,50,000 under TOPS and Rs 1,48,04,080 under Annual calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC).

The SAI said that the amount included the procurement of Game Ready recovery equipment, international competitions and sparring partner in the Tokyo cycle.

Ponnappa said that she was shocked because despite the claims made by SAI, she didn’t receive the money.

“I don’t have a specific coach. As for my personalised trainer, I’m paying for him myself. I’m not taking money from anyone. I’ve played on my own until November (2023). I was included as part of TOPS only after we qualified…” said Ponnappa, reported Business Standard.

“I haven’t played well, irrespective of the coach not being there, I take responsibility for that. But you can’t say I’m getting this amount when I haven’t even got this amount,” she added.