Bronze medalist Purnima Hembram upset over denial of help in despair

Bhubaneswar: Purnima Hembram, Indian track and field athlete, who is suffering from a hamstring injury, has expressed her disappointment over the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports headed by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and the state government for not helping her out during the time of her despair.

As the Asian Championship is just four months away, she has requested the Union Sports Ministry to provide much-needed help to her and enable her to recover from the injury. “I got a call from Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s office for a meeting but nothing has happened after that,” she said.

She added that only four months are left for the Asian Championship, but the help from any quarters is still awaited. “My injury is healing on its own. However, I need help from the government and the Union Sports Ministry to recover fast so that I can be back on track but don’t know when the help reaches me,” she said.

“I can’t go against anyone but I want help to get rid of my injury,” said Hembram, who hails from Odisha. She has won bronze medals in the heptathlon at the 2015 and 2017 Asian Championships and was placed fourth at the 2018 Asian Games. She was also declared the Biju Patnaik Sportsman of the Year in 2015 and was given a prize of Rs 2 lakh.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]