MUMBAI: Multiple medalist at the Asian level, sailor Nitin Mongia is a disappointed man these days and understandably so. He has been denied another shot at a medal in the ongoing Asian Sailing Championship at Langkavi (Malaysia) by the Yachting Association of India (YAI).

“I had finished second at the selection trials (held in Mumbai in early January),” Mongia told TOI. “Two teams are permitted to represent a country in Asian Sailing but YAI preferred to send only Commander Mahesh and his crew which had finished first.”

“When I wrote back to YAI asking the reason, they said my team was not entered due to paucity of funds,” added Mongia. “Then I sent another letter to YAI, informing them that if paucity of funds was the reason for not sending my team, I was ready to bear the cost.”

Mongia’s plea, however, fell on deaf ears. “We wrote to (sports minister) Ajay Maken and also to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) executive director PC Kashyap, informing them about the development but are yet to get a reply,” he rued.

The event, meanwhile, has already begun (February 16) in Malaysia. Mongia and his team have now sent a legal notice to the YAI on the issue.

Mongia cites a recent incident that clearly highlights the gross misuse of government funds by YAI. The yachting body sent a six-member team including officials to the recently-concluded 9th KFC Langkawi International Regatta in Malaysia. The strange part was, the category for which the team was sent (29ers), was not even listed to be held in the first place.

When contacted, Monty Khanna, secretary general of the YAI, explained: “The initial intention was to send a large contingent for Asian Sailing. However, in view of funding constraints, the strength of the team was scaled down taking into consideration medal-winning prospects, while at the same time, laying greater emphasis on youth classes.”

On the issue of self-funding option offered by Mongia, Khanna said: “YAI decided not to permit self-funding in ‘closed events’ (where the number of participants from a country is fixed) as we did not want to create a situation where ability to fund yourself would be a determinant for being a member of the national team. Also, there have been instances in the past where such requests had not been entertained.”

Khanna also said that in the case of the 29ers team, though the ‘notice’ of the race did not list the event, during subsequent correspondence with organizers, a communication was received that 29ers would be included. “It was based on this communication that the team was sent,” he claimed. “However, due to delayed arrival of boats, the 29ers event did not take place. While the federation may be faulted for poor coordination with the organizers, there has, however, not been any misuse of government funds as the decision was taken by the team management not to accept the funds provided for boarding lodging as well as other allowances paid by the federation.”

Veteran sailor Farokh Tarapore termed the development as unfortunate. “It is sad that a medal prospect was not allowed to participate despite the fact that he was ready to bear the costs. We need a change in the system. The decision-making body should have people who are passionate about the sport as they only can understand the needs of a sailor,” he said.