 "Ashwini Ponnappa refutes getting Olympic funding: 'Received Rs 1.5 crore from whom?'")
Indian badminton has received plenty of criticism after a medal-less show at the Paris Olympics . The furthest anyone went was Lakshya Sen who came within touching distance of a bronze medal, while making history with a semi-final run.
Prakash Padukone, former All-England winner and Lakshya Sen’s coach, slammed the athletes for their failure to step up and deliver despite the funding and support from the government and organisations.
Reflecting on India’s showing in badminton at Paris 2024, a PTI report stated the money that badminton stars received from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). However, shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa, who competed in Paris alongside Tanisha Crasto, has called it “a lie”.
The agency report said Ashwini and Tanisha received Rs 1.5 crore each in support from the government.
How can an article be written without getting facts right? How can this lie be written? Received 1.5 CR each? From whom? For what ? I haven't received this money.
— Ashwini Ponnappa (@P9Ashwini) August 13, 2024
I was not even part of any organisation or TOPS for funding.https://t.co/l7gb1C36Tf @PTI_News
“How can an article be written without getting facts right? How can this lie be written? Received 1.5 CR each? From whom? For what ? I haven’t received this money. I was not even part of any organisation or TOPS for funding,” she wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
In subsequent posts she said, “I have funded myself for tournaments until Nov last year, after which I was sent with the Indian team for tournaments as I met the selection criteria to make the team.”
“I was included as part of TOPS scheme only after qualifying for the Paris 2024 Games till the Olympic Games, that’s it. Again, how can this be written without getting the facts checked?”
“The real facts are I am “not funded” by any organisation. I was included in TOPS after our qualification, that too for the duration till the Olympics only. Haven’t taken money from any of the support organisations and CSR development groups.”
“The fact is, as far as support goes, we wanted our doubles coach, who is such an integral part of our doubles team, to travel with us, and we were denied this.”
“Do get your facts checked before publishing anything about us and the financials that we put in to get ourselves ready for the Olympics.”
The Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Mission Olympic Cell reportedly spent Rs. 72.03 crore on the badminton contingent, from the total pool of nearly Rs 470 crore.
Ponnappa, who may have played her last Games, and Crasto were eliminated in the group stage of women’s doubles event at Paris Olympics.
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