Asian Winter Games conclude but Indian contingent yet to get dues
In an embarrassing turn of events, the athletes who took part in the Asian Winter Games have not been paid their out of pocket allowance (OPA) yet. As per the ministry circular, dated January 30, athletes who took part in the Asian Winter Games, which concluded in Harbin, China, on Friday, are to be paid $50 per day.
The officials are yet to transfer the said amount to the athletes' bank accounts while some have already returned to their respective bases. The oversight had forced the respective federations to spend on essential items, including winter clothing and equipment, before their events.
"Can you believe this? Some of us have already returned after participating in our events and we have not received the OPA till today," an athlete told The Tribune on Friday.
Sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, who also holds the joint charge as director general of Sports Authority of India (SAI), was unavailable for comment.
This is not the first incident when the Winter Games contingent feels hard done-by because of government apathy. Earlier, the officials axed 35 athletes from a contingent of 75, stating athletes who are internationals or are amongst the top-six in rankings in individual and top-8 in team events would be allowed to travel to the Games at the government's cost.
A few days later, the government through SAI called for fresh selection trials for the ice hockey team, even though names of the selected team were already shared with the organisers of the Harbin Games.
Further, the sanction letter was issued five days before the start of the Winter Games, which almost delayed the team's participation. In fact, it forced the team leaders of ice hockey, skiing and ice skating to buy winter clothing on their own despite the fact that the sports ministry had sanctioned Rs 1, 20,000 for the contingent.
"Our team walked in with three different coloured kits — blue/back for ice hockey, white for ice skating and off-white/black for the skiing team. We should have ordered the kits months before but since the sanction was delayed, we could not," said a team official.
Another athlete said that such delayed response only shows that athletes' wellbeing is not the top priority of the officials.
"We have submitted a letter of interest to host the 2036 Olympics and here we are still awaiting our share of the OPA. How can we proclaim that we take care of the athletes' interests when some of us had to struggle to get gear and equipment in China," the athlete said.
