Why National Boxing Coach Moved Out Of Commonwealth Games Village

Indian women's boxing team head coach Bhaskar Bhatt has moved out of his room at the Commonwealth Games Village here to accommodate Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain's personal coach Sandhya Gurung. Bhatt has checked into a designated Games hotel nearby. "I have moved to a hotel which is a 10-minute walk from the Village," Bhatt told PTI. It was a voluntary move by the national team head coach, who ensured that team's only Olympic medallist pugilist is in good mental frame with her coach around with her.

"I volunteered to do it (give up his room) as it's all 'ghar ka mamla' (internal matter) and it's best to sort out such things amongst ourselves," the soft-spoken Bhatt added.

Bhatt, who took over the senior women's head coach's job last year, still has access to all the venues and the Games Village. The only change being that he won't be able to stay inside the Village at night.

"I have all the required access, so it's not a problem for me," Bhatt said.

Under Bhatt, the Indian women's team returned with three medals, including a gold, at the World Championship in May.

On Monday, Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina had claimed that her preparation was getting affected due to the "continuous harassment" of her coaches.

Gurung was added to the Indian contingent just days before the Games were to begin, which resulted in a delay in her accreditation.

On her arrival here on Sunday, she was not allowed to enter the Village as she did not have an accreditation, triggering a twitter tirade from her ward. She was checked in to hotel where the extra officials were staying.

In a long social media post on Monday, Lovlina said she was feeling "mentally harassed" as it was a struggle to get her coaches added to the squad.