Indian sprint ace Dutee Chand accused the Odisha government of trying to humiliate her with a press release following the controversy surrounding her Facebook post, expressing her intention to sell her BMW to fund training expenses.
Chand insisted that the announcement on social media about the BMW was because of her struggling to maintain two more vehicles. The 24-year-old has now deleted the post as well.
Also read: Dutee Chand’s BMW controversy – Why the athlete is not always a victim of the system
The Odisha government, in a press release, stated that the athlete has been offered financial support to the tune of Rs 4.09 crore since 2015, which includes the Rs 3 crore that was awarded after her twin silver-medal wins in the 2018 Asian Games.
“Why am I being humiliated in the entire state? I am disappointed about that. After that press release, people are saying: ‘Dutee has a lot of money but is lying’. My self-respect is taking a hit,” Chand told Times of India in an interview.
She added: “You [the Odisha government] spent crores of money organising the Hockey World Cup [in 2018]. Did you release a press release declaring how much you spent for the tournament? Are you humiliating me or the state? What will people think.”
Chand clarified her intentions while writing the Facebook post about selling her car, which created a furore two days ago. The sprinter said the post was taken down after she saw the vitriol that came her way.
“When I posted about getting my BMW car on Facebook, nowhere did I say I need money to fund my training. I kept that post till 10pm that night but when I saw that it was leading to controversy and negativity, I deleted it,” said Chand.