Lucknow, Sep 16 (IANS): At least seven sportspersons from Jharkhand were injured, two of them critically, when 20-25 unidentified youths in Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad district Thursday attacked them in a train to occupy their reserved seats, officials said.

The injured sportspersons alleged that the youths also misbehaved with some of their female colleagues while forcibly occupying the seats.

The incident took place in the Jammu-bound Muri Express near the Meja railway station, some 240-km from Lucknow.

"The unidentified youths kicked and punched the sportspersons in S2 and S3 coaches after they refused to vacate their reserved seats for them," Government Railway Police inspector Nagendra Kumar told reporters in Allahabad.

According to police, the sportspersons were on their way to Ambala to participate in a Taekwondo championship.

"On the complaint of the sportspersons, we have registered a case against unidentified 20-25 youths, who escaped after pulling the train's emergency brake near Naini," said the inspector.