The Indian contingent who was a part of the Deaflympics of the Olympics for those unable to hear returned home in the wee hours in the morning but much to the amusement there was no one to greet them.
It is learnt that the Sports and UnionMinister Vijay Goel is hospitalised due to a chest infection, but in that case, some concerned authorities should have been present to greet the players.
The players undoubtedly were let down with the surroundings as they have won 5 medals at the Deaflympics and this was not the way they should have been treated. Vijender Singh won the gold medal in 74 kg freestyle wrestling while Ajay Kumar and Sumit Dahiya bagged bronze medals in the 65 and 97 kg category respectively. Diksha Dagar won a silver in golf while Prithvi Sekhar and Jafreen Shaik bagged bronze medal in men’s double tennis event.
Let’s face the harsh reality that if the protest hadn’t happened then we might not have even known these players even exists. None of the leading dailies or websites has hardly given them importance like they did for the Paralympics. Unfortunately, the Indian athletes have hogged the limelight because of their refusal to leave the airport due to the unexpected way they were treated.