By Nimisha Sharma | On Fri 12 Aug 2022
Delhi: On Thursday, Saurabh Bhardwaj, MLA of Aam Aadmi (AAP) admitted that the Delhi government cannot give cash rewards to Commonwealth Games bronze medal winner Divya Kakran as she represents Uttar Pradesh.
Kakran, who won the bronze medal in the Women’s Freestyle 68 kg competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, held a press conference on Thursday where she alleged a lack of support from the Delhi government. Kakran told Republic TV that despite her performances for Delhi and India, she never received any kind of assistance from Kejriwal and his government. She also produced a certificate that showed that she represented Delhi from 2011 to 2017. Kakran in her presser claimed that she moved to Uttar Pradesh after not getting any help from the Delhi government despite constant reminders.
In her press conference, Kakran also provided instances of other wrestlers who, despite not being from the state of Delhi, received assistance from the Delhi government. She stated that despite being from Haryana, Sushil Kumar, Saina Nehwal, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Ravi Dahiya all received support from the Delhi government. Kakran added that Kejriwal had assured her in person that he would give her enough supplies for her training, but the AAP leader never followed through on his word and continued to ignore her. To support her claims, Kakran displayed a letter she had written to Kejriwal.
In a tweet, Kakran wrote, “I represented Delhi from 2011 to 2017. This is my certificate from Delhi State. If you still do not believe me, I can upload 17 Gold medal-related certificates as well.” It is noteworthy that she has won over 60 medals including 17 Gold medals in Delhi State Championship.
Divya Kakran bagged the bronze medal in the Asian Games in the year 2018, won a gold medal in the 2020 Asian Wrestling Championship, and recently made India proud by bagging bronze in the 68-kg category in the commonwealth games 2022.
