New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) India’s top squash players Joshna Chinnappa and Deepika Pallikal say they are yet to receive the allowance of Rs.950 a day, which the core probables training for the Commonwealth Games are entitled to, while the federation insists that it has disbursed the amount.
The core probables are given the allowance for diet, overheads (out of pocket) and food supplements.
The Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) said the Rs.3.16 crore grant from the sports ministry has been released for the training of core probables. Totally, Rs 9.27 crore has been budgeted for the squash team’s preparation for the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games.
Both Joshna and Deepika told IANS that SRFI had not told them about the allowance, though they said they have been paid to train and play overseas.
‘I am fortunate that I have my base in Chennai. I get most of what I ask from the federation. They have been really supportive in that regard. But I was not aware of my daily allowance. Nobody from the federation informed me,’ Joshna said.
Deepika, world number 34, concurred with her teammate.
‘I did not know that we are entitled to a daily allowance until IANS brought it to our notice,’ she said.
Cyrus Poncha, the national coach, speaking for SRFI, said all the players have been paid the money.
‘Every rupee received from the government has been given to the players. We follow a very transparent system here,’ Poncha said.
Joshna and Deepika will spearhead India’s challenge in the squash event and are hopeful of getting a medal for the country.
India has never won a medal in Squash at the Games.
‘We have the best chance of winning a medal in the doubles event. We recently won a tournament in Manchester. The preparation has been good so far. I will be playing tournaments in Hong Kong and Egypt in the runup to the Games,’ said world number 35 Joshna.
Deepika, who is currently playing in Australia, is confident of doing well in the doubles and mixed doubles events — she is pairing world number 26 Saurav Ghosal in the latter.
‘Getting a medal in singles seems tough with the kind of competition we have. All the top squash countries are part of the Commonwealth. But we have a good chance of a medal in the doubles.
When asked about missing the home advantage at the squash event in Delhi, Deepika said: ‘We are mostly training abroad. But we will be training at the venue in Delhi ten days before the competition starts. That should be enough to acclimatise ourselves.’
