Khel Ratna awardee Ronjan Sodhi denied funds for training abroad, insulted by sports officials

New Delhi: Ace Indian shooter and Khel Ratna awardee Ronjan Sodhi has been insulted by the sports officials who have denied him funds for training abroad.

Speaking to CNN IBN, Sodhi said that he will train in Italy at his own expense for the final Olympic qualifier.

"I am going to train on my own. They have made me run from pillar to post for the last seven days and then said you have not cleared your bills," Sodhi told CNN-IBN.

India's Olympic medal hopeful is left stranded two weeks before his only shot at Olympic qualification.

Sodhi also said that he was supposed to leave on October 12 but it couldn't happen as the officials told him that his files weren't cleared as he didn't submit his accounts.

Sodhi further narrated an incident where he was sanctioned 30 days of training in August. Two days before he was supposed to leave, he was told that his personal coach hadn't been authorised to go with him. When he asked for the reason, Mr Vivek Narayan, director sports said: 'mera time naa barbaad karo, tumhe toh abroad bhej rahe hain naa.'

Sodhi said it's shocking and shameful to see the way sports officials talk to senior athletes.

On 3rd November, Sodhi will be competing at the Asian Shooting Championship, the last qualifying event in shooting for the Rio Olympics.

Notably, Ronjan Sodhi is a national icon and he was awarded the Arjuna award in 2009 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2013.