HS Prannoy, star triple jumpers accuse Kerala sports bodies of shabby treatment

Add as a preferred source on Google

Three of the star athletes of Kerala, shuttler HS Prannoy and triple jumpers Eldhose Paul, Abdulla Aboobacker will not be featuring for Kerala at the national level anymore with the latter two looking to compete for Tamil Nadu or Odisha at the upcoming National Games in Goa for Tamil Nadu.

As per onManorama, the two decorated triple jumpers accused the Kerala sports authorities of shabby treatment of the athletes and have decided to move out of the state. Both Eldhose Paul and Abdulla Aboobacker made history at the Commonwealth Games last year with 1-2 podium finish respectively.

Aboobacker also won the gold medal at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok earlier this year while finishing outside medal places at the recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou.

At the same event, HS Prannoy starred with two medals, a silver in the men's team event and a bronze in the men's singles. Upon the completion of the Asian Games, the shuttle confirmed he won't be competing in Kerala anymore due to the way he is treated by the Kerala sports body and Kerala Badminton Association. The World Championships bronze medallist also confirmed he will be participating at the next nationals for Tamil Nadu.

"I have always taken great pride in representing Kerala. I can no longer put up with the poor treatment meted out to me by the sports fraternity in the state," Prannoy told onManorama.

The World No. 7 further added that he is taking the step after realising that the Kerala government won't be providing him with financial aid for the Paris Olympics 2024. Kerala badminton body has already granted him the no-objection certificate.

"I have realised that I won't get any kind of recognition in Kerala. I'll have to migrate to some other state to get financial support for preparing for next year's Paris Olympics," he said.

Eldhose Paul, who hails from Ernakulam, said he is going to apply for an NOC as well to the Kerala State Athletics Association as he plans to relocate to either Tamil Nadu or Odisha. Abdulla Aboobacker, meanwhile accused the state of not appreciating them monetarily while other states have granted huge amounts to the medal winners.

"Athletes from other states, who won medals at the Asian Athletics Championship, received cash incentives worth crores from their respective state governments. We expected at least a nominal cash prize and a word of appreciation from the sports authorities in Kerala. But that didn't happen," Abdulla said.