Ace sprinter and India’s ‘fastest’ woman Dutee Chand courted controversy as she on Friday took a dig at the Odisha Government accusing it of neglecting athletes and athletics.
In a Facebook post, she said the Government is busy creating infrastructure worth crores for all sportspersons except athletes. She also alleged that the Government is spending crores of rupees for the National Hockey Team but nothing for athletics.
However, Dutee later deleted the Facebook post.
Dutee’s post drew sharp criticism as former international hockey player Dilip Kumar Tirkey condemned her statement.
“As a sportsperson I strongly condemn this kind of statement from another sportsman who herself belongs to Odisha. Odisha Government has always given importance to all sports, be it hockey or it athletics,” tweeted Tirkey.
“Bagging medal in Olympic is not everyone’s cup of tea. Why Bhubaneswar is known as the sports capital of India that everyone knows very well,” he said.
“And if people really don’t know then they should know that hockey is the game which has given recognition to India in international level. This comment is un-parliamentary and discouraging for the fellow athletes,” he added.
The Odisha Cricket Association in a statement also condemned Dutee’s post.