Almost 30 athletes who were returning from Junior National Athletics Championship in Vijayawada to Delhi, had to sleep on floor in a 30-hour-long journey due to unconfirmed tickets.
Tired, after a day long event, the players had to make "arrangements" or occupy vacant seats to temporarily accomodate themselves in the jorney back home. A video on Facebook posted by junior athlete Pradeep Atri shows the players' plight.
"We have undergone so much pain in the last two days. Some athletes stood for hours and did not even find a seat to rest for a while. Some slept near the toilets," the discuss thrower was quoted as saying to The Indian Express.
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The news comes at a time when athletes from Delhi gave an exceptional performance this year at the Under-16 national events. 15-year-old Nisar Ahmed made a new national record in the 100 metres with a timing of 10.85 seconds at the National Junior Athletics Championships in Vijayawada on sunday.
"I request our Union Minister for Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore ji to please take congnisance of the matter and do something about it the next time. This is the situation of sports in the country," said Atri in the video adding that it was a regular affair. "Har baar aisa hi hota hai (It happens with us everytime)," he said.
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The youngsters also complained about the meagre allowance of Rs 500 that they received for the meet, which did not even suffice for food coupons.
Delhi Athletics Association secretary Sandeep Mehta said that the reason for the fiasco was the postponement of the championships. The event, which was slated to start on November 10, was pushed back to November 16, according to Indian Express report.
