New Delhi: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Tuesday responded to badminton ace Saina Nehwal's claims about her father Harvir Singh's name being removed from the list of team officials, saying that his position as an 'accredited Extra Official' and the payment for that doesn't include a bed at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) Village in Gold Coast.
“Dear @NSaina , Mr. Harvir Singh is an accredited Extra Official! As stated in the CDM Manual of Gold Coast 2018 CWG and repeatedly conveyed to BAI, the payment for accreditation of Extra Official does not include bed in the Games Village,” the tweet, which included a copy of the related document as proof, read.
The document clearly states “the ETO service charge for an extra Team Official… does not include a travel grant or bed in the CGV.”
Saina had on Monday complained that her father isn't allowed to stay with her in the Games Village despite her having paid the "whole amount".
“Surprise to see that when we started from India for commonwealth games 2018 my father was confirmed as the team official and I paid the whole amount for that but when we came to the games village … his name was cut from team official category .. and he can’t even stay with me,” Saina had tweeted.
Dear @NSaina , Mr. Harvir Singh is an accredited Extra Official! As stated in the CDM Manual of Gold Coast 2018 CWG and repeatedly conveyed to BAI, the payment for accreditation of Extra Official does not include bed in the Games Village. @Abhinav_Bindra @kannandelhi pic.twitter.com/Nl00WxS685
— IOA - Team India (@ioaindia) April 3, 2018
A frustrated Saina said that her father's support is crucial for her during matches and tagged the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) in her tweets.
She tweeted further: "He can't c my matches and he can't enter the village nor he can meet me in anyway .. What kind of support is this ..@thecgf.
"I wanted his support as I regularly take him for my competitions ...But i didn't understand why nobody informed me all this earlier .. That he can't enter anywhere #CommonwealthGames2018."
Saina's father and PV Sindhu's mother, Vijaya, are among the 15 individuals who, despite being cleared to be part of the Indian contingent, are not funded by the government for their travel, stay and other expenses.
(With PTI inputs)
