She had to take a loan from a cooperative society to participate in the Para Swimming Championship in Germany. She faced some awkward moments in the German capital due to lack of money and alleged ignorance of officials accompanying her.
However, the visually challenged 26-year-old went on to win a silver medal in Berlin earlier this month and became the only Indian woman to qualify for the World Para Swimming Championship to be held later this year in Mexico.
Kanchanmala Pandey, a resident of Nagpur and an employee of the Reserve Bank of India, swims in the S11 category. She won the medal in the 200-metre Individual Medley in the Para Swimming Championship.
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A nightmare
However, slip-ups by officials accompanying the Indian contingent and the Indian sports authorities ensured that Ms. Pande’s journey to the medal was a nightmarish experience.
“Ours was a government sponsored tour. The SAI (Sports Authority of India) had given sponsorship money to the PCI (Paralympic Committee of India) and we had received letters assuring us that it was a fully sponsored tour. But the PCI later told us that they could not give us any money as their account was blocked. I had to take a loan of ₹5 lakh and luckily I got it in one day,” Ms. Pande said.
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She and five other Indian athletes had to foot their hotel and food expenses. The “irresponsible” behaviour of Kanwaljeet Singh Sandhu, the coach accompanying the Indian contingent, only made things worse, she said.
Ms. Pande’s name was listed in a wrong event. “It is the coach’s responsibility to manage and complete all the official work. But in Berlin, we had to take complete responsibility of even the official work. There was little help from Mr. Sandhu. I had to write to the championship officials to correct the entry just a day before the event,” she claimed.
Ms. Pande said she also suffered the embarrassment of being caught without a ticket on a tram in Berlin. “It was the coach’s responsibility to arrange for the passes. I was travelling to the event venue from my hotel in a tram when the ticket checker caught me without a pass. I had no money with me and I was fined €120. Fortunately, a para-athlete accompanying me lent me the money and I paid the fine.”
Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Monday sought a report from the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) explaining why the para-swimmer was left to fend for herself without money in Berlin.
Ms. Pande’s ordeal has drawn the ire of the likes of Abhinav Bindra and Mahesh Bhupathi, who called the incident “unacceptable” and “shameful.”
The PCI, however, washed its hands of the incident, saying the sanctioned amount could not be distributed due to the non-availability of a court-appointed committee chairman. PCI vice-president Gursharan Singh said the PCI needed the approval of Justice (Retd) Kailash Gambhir, who was appointed by Delhi High Court as Chairman of the Committee.“So, we told the athletes not to take part in Berlin or go on their own and get reimbursed later. The team went on their own,” said Mr. Singh.
(With inputs from PTI)