Arjuna Award-winning Indian archer V Jyoti Surekha lashed out at the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradhesh authorities on Sunday, alleging foul play in disbursing the cash reward announced by the state government. She has threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike according to multiple reports.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had announced a reward of Rs 1 crore for Surekha in August last year, after she had received the Arjuna award from the President. He had also announced a 500-square feet house site in Vijayawada and a government job.

Advertisement

“Surekha did Andhra Pradesh proud by winning 70 medals at national and international archery competitions. She is also the youngest to receive Arjuna award from South India,” the Chief Minister had said then.

It emerged, then, that the government issued an order stating that it will give only Rs 61.53 lakh out of the Rs 1 crore promised to her and Rs 15 lakh will be given to Cherukuri Satyanarayana for coaching her, a fact, which Surekha denies.

“On May 4, I learnt that around Rs 22 lakh was deducted from the total amount, due to a Government Order (GO) from April 2017. Additionally, another Rs 15 lakh was deducted to Cherukuri Satyanarayana for ‘coaching’. He is not my coach and he never was,” Jyoti was quoted as saying.

Advertisement

“Right from my childhood, I trained under J Rama Rao and since 2013, I was in the Indian camp under the training of Jeevan Jyoti Singh Teja. (...) How can the SAAP officials deduct the cash incentive announced by the Chief Minister without any prior intimation?” she asked.

Surekha’s father, V Surendra, alleged that SAAP officials are doing this as a favour for Satyanarayana and asked the government to intervene.

India’s compound mixed team of Abhishek Verma and Jyoti had recently clinched the bronze medal in the archery World Cup in Shanghai with a 154-148 win over Turkey.