Chef-de-mission rules out
action against Geet Sethi
Indian team leader Gurdayal Singh Mander has shrugged off blistering criticism of his Asian Games organisation by world billiards champion Geet Sethi.
Sethi was angry that the Indian tracksuits for the Games were slow to arrive and lashed out in a newspaper interview, saying the team was "dressed like beggars".
Mander has the power to impose a sanction on Sethi, who is making his Asian Games debut here, but said he had spoken to the player and no action is expected.
Sethi had told The Indian Express that while competing at the Games was a source of great pride, "I'm totally disgusted that we have come here so ill-prepared".
Mander said the team had official uniforms that they wore at the opening ceremony on Sunday. But he admitted that not all tracksuits had arrived from destinations in India.
He had not read Sethi's comments, but said, "He's a very senior champion and it would have been better if had not said those things."
Mander claimed that Sethi stood back from his comments when they discussed the issue today.
"He said he didn't mean those things in the paper. Sanctions are dealt with on a case-to-case basis and while I haven't seen his comments yet, we are not planning any action," the chef-de-mission said.
Sethi had told the newspaper that he had bought his own tracksuit and T-shirts in Bangkok and had been using those because the official uniforms had failed to arrive.
"Just about every team in the village looks smart. The Chinese even wear co-ordinated Reebok shoes. I told the Indian Olympic Association that we are not beggars and we should move around dressed as smartly as the others."
AP
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