Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has reacted after boxer Lovlina Borgohain alleged mental harassment ahead of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The 24-year-old claimed that one of her coaches was denied entry into the Commonwealth Games Village, while another was sent back to India.

Speaking to Sportstar, BFI secretary Hemanta Kalita said the  federation tried to get an accreditation for Borgohain’s coach Sandhya Gurung but wasn’t successful. 

“The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) allotted 25 per cent officials on the total number of athletes. We have 12 athletes, so we got four officials. After that we made a request and got another four. This includes coaches, a doctor, physio etc. We put Sandhya Gurung’s name in the long list, we requested for her inclusion, the SAI also sanctioned her name, but the IOA is not doing it,” Kalita told Sportstar.

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Lovlina Borgohain scripted history by winning a bronze medal in the Welterweight category at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. In a post on Twitter on Monday, she alleged mental harassment.

“Today with great sorrow I want to reveal that harassment is going on with me. The coaches who helped me win the Olympic medal were removed which hindered my training process. One of the coaches is Sandhya Gurungji, who is a Dronacharya awardee. Both of my coaches have to plead to be included in the training camp and they are added quite late,” Lovlina said.

Also Read: Commonwealth Games 2022: Overview, events, fixtures, venue & telecast

Further reacting to the claims, Kalita told Sportstar, “Since this is a group event, Sandhya’s name has gone as personal coach. Everyone needs a personal coach. We gave two women’s coaches who coach everybody. Even that is not enough. There is a doctor, two physios and a masseur. We could not even send a team manager. We needed at least 15 people.”