New Delhi: The Russia-born Indian coach of the Indian gymnastics team for the Guangzhou Asian Games, who left the team and returned to India over a dress row, tonight alleged "racism" in his exclusion from the opening ceremony of the sporting event.
Asked if the behaviour against him was racist, the coach Vladimir Chertkov said: "It was insult straight on my face. It was humiliation. It was discrimination. The way he was asking me (to go), I can say it was racism".
The Indian contingent in the Games was hit by a controversy with the coach of the gymnastic squad deserting the team after he was barred from taking part in the opening ceremony on Friday.
Chertkov told a news channel that managers of different teams of Indian contingent had complained about the dress given to athletes for the opening ceremony because of the "wrong" size.
He said he was told by Indian chef-de-mission that he could wear "something close enough to the dress or same colour blazer, Olympic style".
Chertkov said that when he went for the opening ceremony with that dress, he was told by the chef-de-mission that he cannot take part as the dress was "not fit" and asked him to go away. "You cannot go with us. You can go".
"It was the last straw. I cannot take it any more. If I'm not good enough for participating in the opening ceremony, what have I to do?" he said.
Asked if he was willing to resolve the issue and return to the Games, Chertkov said "I think it is already late".
He said he went to the Indian Olympic Association office on his return but "everybody ran away. I could not meet anyone".
Chef-de-mission Abhay Chatuala, for his part, denied the charge of racism and said "racism would have been there had we stopped all foreign coaches of our contingent from going to the opening ceremony. But all other foreign coaches were there. Have you so far got any complaint of racism from any other foreign coach"? He is the only one to complain".
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