“Nothing of this sort happened” - Antim Panghal denies reports on deportation; claims them as ‘false’
Indian wrestler Antim Panghal has firmly denied recent reports suggesting she and her sister Nisha faced deportation from Paris during the 2024 Olympics. The athlete has labeled the rumors as “false” and addressed the situation in detail to clear the air.
Recent media reports claimed that Nisha Panghal, using Antim’s accreditation, had unlawfully entered the Olympic Games Village and was subsequently detained by the police. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had reportedly decided to send Panghal and her support staff back home following this supposed incident.
However, Panghal has now stepped forward to dispel these claims and provide a clear account of what truly transpired.
“I want to clarify that the reports about my sister or me being detained by police in Paris are false. Nothing of this sort happened,” said Antim Panghal (via NNIS Sports).
The controversy appears to have begun following Panghal’s disappointing performance in her bout against Turkey's Yetgil Zeynep. After the match, Panghal fell seriously ill with a high fever. She was then moved to her sister's hotel for rest, having secured permission from her coach to do so.
“Yesterday, I fell extremely sick after losing the bout and had a high fever. So my sister, who was staying in a hotel asked me to come there. I took permission from my coach, which he allowed. After coming to the hotel, I needed my belongings, which were at the Olympic Village. But as I was not feeling well, I slept, and my sister took my accreditation card and went to the Village," she narrated.
“Upon reaching there, she informed me that this is my sister’s accreditation card and she is unwell, so can I collect her belongings from the Village? The officials took the accreditation card and took her to the police station for verification. I was not taken to the police station. Only my sister went. And that too just to verify the accreditation, following which she was asked to go and was handed over the accreditation card," she added.
Antim Panghal clears up misunderstanding over coach-cab driver incident
In addition to the accreditation issue, another report suggested a confrontation between Antim Panghal’s coach and a cab driver, further complicating the narrative. Panghal clarified this as well, noting the misunderstanding that occurred due to language barriers.
“They are also saying that the coach fought with a cab driver. This didn’t happen at all; when I lost the bout, even the coach was extremely upset. While I came to the hotel, he stayed at the Village and we booked a cab for him till the hotel," she explained.
“The problem escalated due to the language barrier. After reaching the hotel, the coaches didn't have enough Euros and informed the cab driver to allow them to go to the room and bring it. However, both parties had problems understanding each other, and in the meantime, one coach came up to the room. It took him almost five minutes to return back with Euro, so due to this, there was a fight between the coaches and the cab driver," Antim Panghal added.