IOA claims archery coach Woong Ki’s accreditation snafu caused by AAI

New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) Following the news of India Archery contingent’s head coach Baek Woong Ki having to return to India due to denial of accreditation which prohibited the South Korean from being with the team at the Olympics, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) said it has gone by the recommendations of AAI. A senior IOA official said accreditations were issued by the governing body as per the advice of the Archery Association of India (AAI) which means that AAI is responsible for the denial of proper accreditation to the coach.

“IOA has gone by the recommendation and advice of all National Sports Federations whose athletes are competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. IOA has acted positively on accreditation recommendations and requests of all NSFs and even individual athletes. IOA will act on any request that comes from the Archery Association of India,” an IOA official told IANS.

Woong Ki is a world-renowned coach and was the head coach of the South Korean contingent that won the gold at the 2012 London Olympics.

The mix-up that has resulted in him being with his team will see him return to India with his flight being scheduled for Saturday evening.

The Korean coach has blamed the IOA for denying him accreditation. "I have a contract until August 30. I plan to arrive at Sonipat and calmly prepare for the formalities of entering Korea. I have been training them for two years to win a medal at the Paris Olympics. However, foreign coaches were excluded due to the IOA's poor and hasty administration," Baek Woong Ki told the media.

There are also reports that AAI has decided to exclude the team's foreign coach to accommodate the personal coach of one of the archers.

India has sent a 117-athlete contingent for the Olympics 2024 alongside 140 support staff members. The archery team includes Dhiraj Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, Pravin Jadhav, Deepika Kumari, Bhajan Kaur, and Ankita Bhakat who will be representing India in hopes of winning the country's first-ever medal at the event.

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