NEW DELHI: The Sports Ministry on Monday cleared a 325-member Indian contingent, including 221 athletes, for the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast next month, but dropped two contingent staff named by the Indian Olympic Association, PTI reports.
The contingent has 58 coaches, 7 managers, 17 doctors and physiotherapists and 22 other officials (104 non-athletes in all). Not all the officials are, however, going to the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games on government cost. The government will bear the cost of only 54 coaches, 16 doctors and physiotherapists and 19 other officials (89 in all), besides the 221 athletes.
P V Sindhu’s mother Vijaya Pusarla and Saina Nehwal’s father Harvir Singh are among the 15 officials/non-athletes who have been cleared on no cost to government. They have not been given any designation in the list issued by the ministry.The seven managers have also been cleared at no cost to the government and the respective federations will have to spend for them from their own pockets.
The number of athletes will, however, be reduced to 219 as long jumper M Sreeshankar has been ruled out due to a surgery to remove appendix and paddler Soumyajit Ghosh has been provisionally suspended by his federation after an 18-year-old woman levelled allegations of rape against him, the newswire reports.
