CWG 2022: Boxer Lovlina Borgohain leaves opening ceremony midway, BFI vice president Rajesh Bhandari expresses displeasure
Olympic medalist and boxer Lovlina Borgohain was left stranded after she decided to leave the 2022 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony midway through to train early in the morning.
Double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and men's hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh were India's flagbearers at the grand event on Thursday, July 28. As many as 164 athletes and officials attended the event, which lasted nearly over two and a half hours.
How good was the #B2022 Opening Ceremony at the Alexander Stadium last night! 😍
A shout-out to all the participants, volunteers and fans who made it a night to remember 🇮🇳🎇🎆
@birminghamcg22 | #TeamIndia | #EkindiaTeamIndia https://t.co/1LDmOaXoo5
Lovlina Borgohain, along with fellow Indian pugilist Muhammad Hussamuddin, were left stranded for nearly an hour after not being able to find a ride back to the Games Village.
The puglist told PTI while leaving:
"We want to train in the morning as we have a bout day after. The ceremony will go on for a while so we thought of leaving. We asked for a taxi but we were told that was not available."
The duo eventually took a bus back to the Village near the National Exhibition Centre.
Earlier, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist had accused the authorities of mental harassment ahead of CWG. She called out the authorities for hampering her practice sessions ahead of the quadrennial showpiece event by denying her coach's entry into the Games Village.
Just a day after she labelled the accusations via a tweet, Borgohain's coach Sandhya Gurung was finally handed official accreditation for the event on Tuesday (July 26).
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Chef de Mission Rajesh Bhandari enraged by Lovlina Borgohain's actions
CWG 2022 organizers alloted three cars to the Indian delegation traveling to the Alexander Stadium for the Opening Ceremony. However, athletes and officials had to arrive for the ceremony on busses, as the cars were not available at the time.
India's Chef de Mission and vice-president of the Boxing Federation of India Rajesh Bhandari was unhappy with the boxer's actions. He didn't appreciate the Olympian leaving the ceremony in the middle despite having the option to stay back at the Games Village like others.
Several Indian athletes who were supposed to compete on Day 1 of the 2022 CWG opted not to attend the Opening Ceremony and stayed back in the Games Village.
Speaking about the fiasco, Bhandari said:
“We were in the middle of the ceremony and I got to know later that she and another boxer left early. We all came in buses and taxi option was not available at that time. They shouldn’t have come if they wanted to leave early."
He further added:
“There were so many athletes who decided not to come as they had training or competition in the morning, which we completely understand. I will be speaking to the boxing team on this matter."
CWG 2022: Boxer Lovlina Borgohain's coach Sandhya Gurung finally receives accreditation