As Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain’s personal coach Sandhya Gurung was handed an accreditation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, news has emerged that the rest of the contingent’s situation has become bleak as the team doctor, Dr. Karanjit Singh’s accreditation status has been changed since.
The change of the accreditation status will result in Dr. Singh not being able to remain inside the Games village, as well as being absent during training and the matches. The team doctor will need to acquire a day pass to attend the Commonwealth Games competition, which might not hand him access to the warm-up area.
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Medical practitioners are of immense importance in boxing matches, since it is a contact sport, as well as because of its combative nature. Injuries are frequent in boxing matches, such was seen during the Tokyo Olympics, when an Indian boxer, Satish Kumar, received significant injuries in the pre-quarters but there was no doctor to offer treatment.
Members of the Indian boxing contingent are wary ahead of the CWG 2022, following the change of status of Dr. Karanjit Singh’s accreditation of the event.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI), along with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) are helpless to offer assistance in the matter, as the Sports Ministry have decided for Lovlina to get her personal coach Sandhya Gurung along with her.
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Lovlina Borgohain, who won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, had earlier come out and said that she was feeling ‘mentally harassed’ ahead of the mega-event, pointing toward the boxing federation. Since then, the union sports ministry had helped her to get Gurung inside the Games village with an accreditation, a move that might hamper the contingent’s morale at the event.
The organising committee of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham offered to give Sandhya an accreditation only when the IOA decided to change the status of the team doctor. Meanwhile, the boxing team had been allowed extra staff as part of the contingent earlier.