Vinesh Phogat sends apology to WFI, may still not be allowed to compete at Worlds
New Delhi, Aug 14: Suspended wrestler Vinesh Phogat has sent her apology to the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), which had barred her from competitions on grounds of indiscipline during the Tokyo Olympics but the parent body may still not allow her to compete in the upcoming World Championship.
Vinesh, who exited from the Tokyo Games following her shock quarterfinal defeat, was suspended by the WFI for not staying and training with her Indian teammates and for sporting the name of her personal sponsor on her singlet instead of the official sponsor of the Indian contingent.
A day after her suspension, Vinesh had revealed her physical and mental struggle during the Games where she did not have the services of her personal physio.
The 26-year-old on Friday replied to the notice sent to her by the WFI.
"WFI has received the reply and Vinesh has apologised," a source, aware of the developments, told PTI.
"But it is very much possible that despite apology, she may not still be allowed to travel to the World Championship," the sources added.
The WFI is not pleased with the way private sports NGOs like OGQ and JSW, who sponsor many Indian athletes, are handling the Indian wrestlers as it feels they are "spoiling" them.
The WFI has said that it will not allow them to interfere in the affairs of the senior wrestlers in future.
Vinesh is supported by OGQ while Bajrang Punia gets support from JSW.
It has also been learnt that Sonam Malik, who has apologised for her misconduct, may also be barred from appearing in the trials for the World Championship, scheduled to be held in Norway from October 2-10.
The WFI had accused Sonam (62kg) of misconduct as she sought help from SAI officials for procuring her passport from the WFI office before leaving for Tokyo.
The trials are expected to be held in the last week of this month.
The source also added that Divya Kakran, who was also served a notice for misconduct three months back, may also be barred from appearing in the trials. She competes in the 68kg category.
The WFI will decide on the fate of the three wrestlers either on Monday or Tuesday.
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Padma awardees in Odisha to receive monthly honorarium of Rs 30,000
Bhubaneswar, Jan 16 (PTI): The Odisha government will provide a monthly honorarium of Rs 30,000 to each of the Padma awardees of the state from the current month.
The Odia Language Literature and Culture Department issued a notification to this effect on Thursday.
In view of their outstanding contribution to society in various fields, the state government has decided to provide an honorarium of Rs 30,000 to the Padma awardees, the notification said.
All the Padma awardees of the state, who are alive, will receive the honorarium through direct benefit transfer (DBT) mode from January 2025, it said.
The government has asked collectors and culture officers of all districts to submit details of the Padma award winners (who are alive) including the district collector's certificate, bank account details, IFSC code to the Directorate of Odia, Language, Literature and Culture as soon as possible.
In March last year, the previous BJD government had announced a monthly honorarium of Rs 25,000 for the Padma awardees from Odisha. However, it was not implemented yet, an official of the department said.
In November last year, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had decided to provide Rs 30,000 to the Padma awardees of the state. Accordingly, the formal notification was published on Thursday, he said.
The Padma Award was introduced in 1954. The award is given to personalities for their outstanding contribution in the fields of arts, education, science, sports, social work, public service, medicine, literature, etc.
As per the Padma Awards website of the Ministry of Home Affairs, till now, the President has conferred Padma awards on 105 eminent personalities from Odisha, which includes 90 Padma Shri, 11 Padma Bhushan and four Padma Vibhushan.
