Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's jibe at boxer Vijender Singh has not gone down well with Abhay Chautala, president of the Indian Boxing Federation, and he slammed the former for humiliating the sportsperson in public.
The Daily Mail writes that Chautala said that the chief minister publically humiliated the boxer and his comments reflect his bias against boxing since a leader belonging to the main opposition party in the state was heading the concerned federation.
During a felicitation function in Chandigarh on Thursday, Hooda had told Vijender to stop tours apparently implying that frequent modelling assignments and stints on television shows had had an adverse effect on the boxer's performance.
It might have seemed like an word of advice to the start pugilists, but then Abhay - the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA from Ellanabad - said that the comment by the chief minister was not an advice but a 'taunt' aimed at the boxer.
He alleged that Hooda was venting his frustration at failing to manage any of the prestigious sports bodies in India.
'Vijender had brought laurels to the country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He had won a bronze medal,' Abhay was quoted in the report.
The INLD leader said that Hooda was 'biased' in honouring players and had not done much to promote boxing in Haryana.
He alleged that the chief minister had been making announcements only to gain publicity and had not fulfilled his promises.
'The chief minister had promised to set up an international boxing academy in Bhiwani. But it has not come up so far.
'The training centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) is in a bad shape. The players have been left to their own means,' Abhay added.