The Indian Olympic Association on Friday reacted with shock at the allegations made by one of the country's top golfers SSP Chawrasia, who had lashed out at the national Olympic body and Sports Ministry for the shoddy the treatment meted out to him and others during the Rio Olympics.
Chawrasia also claimed that he was yet to receive the full amount of promised `30 lakhs, earmarked as preparatory money for the Rio Olympics. Terming Chawrasia's claims as "rubbish and false", the IOA said in a statement that it never promised to give the golfer `30 lakhs.
"IOA is shocked to read the allegations made by Mr Chawrasia (golfer participated in Rio Olympic Games 2016) in the various newspapers that IOA promised `30 lakhs. This is rubbish and false statement he has given to newspapers. We condemn this allegation and confirm that IOA never made promise to Chawrasia of `30 lakhs," the IOA claimed.
The IOA further gave a list of items which it had given to Chawrasia. The items include casual and ceremonial kits, pocket allowances amounting to `47,000 and overseas insurance of `1,600.
A livid Chawrasia on Thursday lashed out at the IOA and said the shoddy treatment meted out by IOA officials at the Rio Games made him feel like a "servant".
"There were no proper arrangements right from vehicle arrangement. It was freezing cold and kept raining and they did not even arrange an umbrella or raincoat for us. They would behave as if they were 'maalik' (owners) and we were their 'naukars' (servants)," Chawrasia had claimed.
"We were asked to wait at the airport for four hours for a vehicle and (Anirban) lahiri came on his own. We were feeling so bad. Now we will think twice before representing India at Olympics. We don't like to keep on harping on this subject as we want to concentrate on the tougher assignments ahead," he added.
Meanwhile, A day after SSP Chawrasia lashed out at the IOA alleging shoddy treatment at the Olympics, India's Chef-de-mission in Rio, Rakesh Gupta, said the golfer should have brought the issues to his notice during the Games instead of complaining four months later.
Chawrasia had vented his ire at IOA officials on Thursday, saying that there were no proper arrangements even for transportation and they were treated like servants at the Rio Games.
Gupta said transportation of the athletes was the responsibility of the local organisers.
"It is the responsibility of the local organisers to receive athletes at the airport and transport them to the Games Village. All the Indian players, say Abhinav Bindra, leander Paes, they were brought to the Games Village via the transport provided by the local organisers," Gupta said.
"The Indian players reached Rio in several batches, one by one, many of them came alone. Chawrasia came alone, (Anirban) lahiri came alone, Aditi Ashok came alone with his father, leander Paes came alone, wrestlers and shooters, they came in ones and twos.
"We cannot go to the airport every time and receive each of them. How we could we have done that, it is not possible. We had very few people from the IOA at Rio and there were a lot of other issues to attend to," he said.
Further elaborating on the issue of transportation, Gupta said, "What we did was a day before we would give the local organisers a list of Indian players who will reach Rio the next day.
"After that it is the responsibility of the local organisers to arrange for the vehicles to transport them to the Games Village. It is the same process for players of other countries too."
Gupta also questioned Chawrasia's complaint now.
"When he (Chawrasia) was there at the Games Village, I met him almost everyday and he never made a complaint to me. I met him again at the airport while returning home after the Games are over, then also he did not make any complaint. If he had any issue, he would have told me at Rio and we could have taken up the issue.
"There could have been rain in Rio but more than rain, I think there was also storm and other players had no issues.
"As far as I remember no Indian player, except these golfers, had made a complaint about these kind of problems during the Olympics. I don't know why he (Chawrasia) made these allegations four months after the Games are over," he added.