By B Shrikant

Birmingham, Jul 27 (IANS): The Indian boxing contingent for the Commonwealth Games here is in turmoil after the accreditation status of the team doctor was changed to accommodate the accreditation for Sandhya Gurung, personal coach of Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist female boxer Lovlina Borgohain.

The switch in his accreditation status means that Dr. Karanjit Singh can no longer stay in the Games village and be available for the boxers during training and competition. To attend competitions, he will have to get a day pass, which may not allow him access to the warm-up area.

With boxing being a contact sport, there is a lot of scope for injuries and the presence of a doctor is a must. The Indian boxing team learnt this lesson when boxer Satish suffered an injury and there was no doctor on hand to help him.

That is the reason why members of the boxing contingent are worried with the restricted access Dr. Karanjit will get in view of his altered accreditation status.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Boxing Federation of India (BFI) officials have their hands tied in this regard as the Sports Ministry has decided to push for Lovlina to have her coach Sandhya Gurung.

The Birmingham Games organising committee gave accreditation to coach Sandhya only when IOA decided to take it away from the team doctor.

Boxing has been given extra support staff than permitted despite restrictions on the number of support personnel.