Controversial coach, 'injured' athlete in Commonwealth Games contingent
New Delhi, July 15
There are a few surprises in the Indian contingent for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which begin on July 28: A coach who was reprimanded for his role in a controversy when a gymnast was videographed against her wishes, a quarter-miler who was supposed to be unfit and replaced, a number of personal coaches, and a new chef-de-mission of the contingent.
Gymnastics coach Rohit Jaiswal – who was accused by Aruna Budda Reddy for videographing her without her consent — will be one of the two male coaches to accompany the 10-member squad. Interestingly, Jaiswal was repatriated to his parent employer Border Security Force by a Sports Authority of India (SAI) panel after Aruna’s complaint.
Ashish Kumar, who broke the glass ceiling for Indian male gymnasts when he won two medals (silver and bronze) at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the Asian Games in 2010, is not included in the team.
Arokia Rajiv, who was dropped by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) due to an injury and was then replaced by high-jumper Tejaswin Shankar, has found a place in the 315-member contingent. Shankar’s entry was denied by the CWG organisers on the grounds that only like-for-like replacements were allowed, and subsequently Arokia was re-inducted in the contingent.
Another quarter-miler, Amoj Jacob, who had to take a fitness test, has also been named in the athletics contingent.
Table tennis star Manika Batra’s personal coach Chris Adrian Pfeiffer has been included in the Extra Team Official (ETO) category. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia’s coach Sujeet Mann and Dutee Chand’s coach N Ramesh are also in the list.
