Sprint king engages in a scuffle with another athlete

Ranchi: Sprint king of the ongoing National Games, Sameer Mon, in an inebriated condition was engaged in a bitter scuffle against another athlete, shattering peace of the Khel Gaon (Games Village) late last night.

The Services sprinter, who clinched the 100m title earlier, caught up a fight with another athlete during the cultural programme in the evening but it snowballed into a violent turn during dinner time at the Food Plaza. In an inebriated condition, Mon accompanied by his fellow Services athletes attacked the athlete from Jharkhand, as activities came to a literal halt at both the dinner halls around 10.40pm last night. The violent and wild scenes disrupted the peace of the Games Village as it became the talk of the town on Monday. Services coaches tried their best to pacify Mon but he did not seem in a mood to calm down as he along with his teammates attacked the other athlete. The other athlete too formed a group and the violent scenes shifted from the dinner arena to the Games Village.With both parties not ready to compromise, police had to intervene and according to reports they were taken into police custody. However, the Jharkhand Olympic Association said both the parties were back and the issue was sorted out. "We have sorted that out. Nobody is injured. All are safe and fine. They are back in the camp," Jharkhand Olympic Association president R K Anand said on Tuesday morning. Athletics competition ended on Monday, even as the 34th National Games is going to be concluded on February 26. PTI