New Delhi, Dec 23
After chess veteran Tania Sachdev, former world championship medallist boxer Gaurav Bidhuri came forward to slam the Delhi government for discrimination towards athletes and overlooking their achievements.
On Monday morning, Tania vented out her frustration and expressed how the Delhi government had failed to recognise her achievements. "Having played for India since 2008. It’s disheartening to see a lack of recognition from the Delhi government for achievements in chess. States that support and celebrate their champions, directly inspire excellence and motivate talent. Sadly, Delhi has yet to take this step," she posted on X.
Highlighting her recent achievements, which include the historic Chess Olympic gold, Tania said, "Till date there has been no acknowledgement or recognition by the state govt."
Bidhuri, who won the bronze medal in the 2017 Boxing World Championships, was quick to express his agreement with Tania's claims and said Delhi-based players win medals for the country but are treated differently in the national capital than other states, pointing out Delhi government's lack of recognition for medal-winning athletes.
"Why no one raise this issue of discrimination that athletes from Delhi are facing? We win same medal for India but are treated differently in different states," Bidhuri posted on X.
He further said the Delhi government gets away from its responsibility by reiterating the national capital's Union Territory status. "Hum Delhiwale toh orphans hai, UT bolkar sab Central govt. pe daal dete hain (We people of Delhi are like orphans; they call it a Union Territory and shift all responsibilities to the central government)."
Reacting to the chess player's post, Chief Minister Atishi insisted that the Delhi government has always supported its athletes, and she is looking forward to hearing suggestions on what more can be done for the players.
"Hi Tania, we have always supported all our athletes, sportsmen, and sportswomen, especially in our schools. Would love to meet you and understand what more can be done, especially for chess players. My office will reach out to you and I am really looking forward to hearing your thoughts and suggestions," Atishi replied to Tania's post on X.
This is not the first instance when the players from Delhi have raised the concern of getting overlooked by the city government for their achievements.
After the Tokyo Olympics, 400m runner Sarthak Bhambri, who was part of the 4x400m relay team that set the Asian record in the Tokyo Games, had also pointed out that there was no monetary help offered to him from the Delhi government.
"I can tell you that the Delhi government never came to my help, no monetary help was ever offered to me," said 22-year-old Bhambri, who lives in Rajouri Garden and is currently pursuing his under-graduation education. "Posters have been put up saying, 'Delhi bole jeet ke aana', kaise jeet ke aana? (Delhi says win medal at Olympics. How to win this way?)," Sarthak had told IANS.
"I saw somewhere that crores have been spent on hoardings and posters for the Olympics. Even If they gave us 10-15 per cent of that for our preparations months before going to the Olympics, we could have put it to good use on our performance," he had added.
Indian wrestler Divya Kakran too had slammed the Delhi government for not providing her promised financial support to prepare for the international competitions.