Miffed weightlifters to return 'Bangla Gaurav' award

Indian veteran weightlifters Jyotsna Mukherjee and Chay Adok have decided to return their 'Bangla Gaurav' award, expressing discontent with the West Bengal government for allegedly giving secondary treatment to the sport in the state.

Jyotsna, who received the honour in 2015, said on Saturday that there is not even a single weightlifting academy in the state which makes it difficult for budding weightlifters to train as they come from poor families.

"How can I keep the award when my brothers and sisters are crying. See, weightlifting people come from poor families. There is no state academy that could provide training facilities to them. Usually, one needs to spend around Rs 2-3 lakhs on weightlifting training. Without the government's help, we cannot do anything," Jyotsna told ANI.

The weightlifter said that they are trying since 2012 to get a state academy for weightlifters but no attention is being paid to their demand.

She said that they took the matter to the sports minister as well, but even that did not yield any result.

"We requested them for an academy. Youngsters are not able to train. They are from poor families. But the government did not pay heed to our requests. We are trying since 2012. With the sports minister, we conduct a meeting every month. But they will do what they think is right without considering our demand," she said.

Adok, who is also an Arjuna awardee, suggested a transformation in the state weightlifting association management.

The weightlifter said that proper elections should be conducted to decide people for top managerial positions in the association.