Only a bronze?

By now you will have heard about Indian gymnast Ashish Kumar’s historic achievement, winning Indias first gymnastics medals in the Commonwealth Games. It’s a fantastic achievement, unfortunately not everyone thinks so. According to The Times of India,  Jaspal Singh Kandhari, President of the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) has asked coach Vladimir Chertkov “Is this all that you can deliver, a bronze?“.

The  Gymnastics Federation of India is content to continue its step-motherly, and often cruel, treatment of players and coaches. It’s either unaware of the extent of their achievements or simply chooses to turn a blind eye.

“Today, we’ve achieved in a year what normally takes 4-8 years,” he told TOI, “But the officials don’t talk to me. Yesterday, the federation hosted a party but none of us were invited.”

Chertkov is scathing in his indictment of officials: “This federation has no knowledge. They only create problems. We needed at least 8-9 exposure tours, they gave us four. They entered India’s name in the World Championship in Rotterdam and now aren’t sending the team. They are prepared to pay the penalty, which is more expensive than sending a team. This was a good opportunity for us to qualify for the London Olympics. They have set us back six years.”

Read more The Times of India