There are moments when a nation does not fail because of war or calamity, but because of indifference. Odisha is witness to one such moment.
Viral videos show that young athletes, who carried Odisha’s name at the National Under-17 Boys and Girls Wrestling Championship in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, were forced to travel sitting on the floor, cramped beside a train toilet, in freezing cold conditions on their way back to Bhubaneswar. There were 18 young wrestlers — 10 boys and 8 girls —accompanied by four teachers from different schools across Odisha.
It is further learnt that the young wrestlers had to endure similar hardships during their train journey to Ballia as well, even before they stepped onto the mats to compete in the championship.
This was not an unfortunate coincidence. Rather, it was a case of systemic neglect. The disturbing visuals are not merely a travel inconvenience caught on camera; in fact, they are an indictment of a system that celebrates sports in speeches but abandons athletes in practice. In those frames, the promise of Indian sports stand humiliated. This is precisely why the incident hurts deeper.
Because Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Khelo India vision was built to end exactly this kind of neglect. Khelo India was never just a scheme. Rather, it was a civilisational correction. Khelo India, which aims at improving India’s sports culture, sought to move Indian sports away from elite entitlement to grassroots empowerment to ensure that talent from small towns and modest families is respected, supported, and protected. From infrastructure to scholarships, from talent identification to athlete dignity, Khelo India places the young sportsperson at the centre of national priority. But what happened with the young athelets from Odisha during the train journey is exactly anti-thesis to that that vision.
When children chosen to represent their State at a national championship are treated like ping-pong balls, the system has not merely failed administratively; it has failed morally.
As outrage spread, the response from the Odisha government followed a familiar script. Odisha’s School and Mass Education Minister, Nityananda Gond maintains that “an inquiry has been ordered,” the government will “examine the truth behind the allegations,” and that “necessary action will follow.” These are safe words, polished by repetition, emptied by overuse.
Odisha’s Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj, however, has stopped short of giving any direct comment on the matter.
“The Minister of School and Mass Education has already given his statement. I have also spoken to him, and the Hon’ble Minister has told me that the Department of School and Mass Education will exercise greater care in the future,” Suraj told reporters.
Meanwhile, Department of School and Mass Education, Odisha, has issued a clarification on X. “It is clarified that all the young wrestlers were travelling back to Bhubaneswar after participating in the National U-17 Boys & Girls Wrestling Championship at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. Despite the best efforts of the Department, although all tickets were booked in 3-tier AC class, no return ticket was confirmed. However, the TTE allotted 10 berths at Hinjili, near Kolkata, on the way back to Bhubaneswar. The Department is preparing an SOP in consultation with the Railway Authorities to ensure that such incidents do not recur,” it said.
Booking unconfirmed tickets for a contingent of schoolchildren travelling to a national championship is not a “best effort”. This is negligence, plain and simple. It reflects a mindset that treats athlete logistics as an afterthought, rather than a duty.
Even worse is the clarification, which — couched as a procedural deference —attempts to normalise the humiliation. Nowhere does it acknowledge the ordeal faced by the young athletes. There is no apology, no empathy, and no remorse. Therefore, such a clarification is nothing short of disgraceful.
Athletes are not ping-pong balls to be tossed between departments, railways, and SOP drafts. They are the human face of Odisha’s sporting ambition. When they are humiliated, the State’s image is scarred.
Let us also dismantle a convenient misconception. Indian Railways does not have a special passenger reservation quota for sportspersons. What exists are group booking mechanisms that require planning, coordination, and seriousness.
If confirmed travel was not ensured, the failure squarely lies with officials entrusted with the task.
Odisha proudly positions itself as a sports destination — hosting hockey world cup, T20 cricket, building stadiums, and showcasing ambition. But sporting excellence is not measured by floodlights and foreign applause. If grassroot athletes are neglected, the entire sports ecosystem stands on hollow ground. That is why accountability is non-negotiable.
Responsibility must be fixed — clearly and unequivocally, not diluted through delayed inquiry or hollow clarification.
Officers responsible for this must
face consequences. The ministers concerned must acknowledge the gravity of the lapse. Silence must end, and accountability must begin.
Because Khelo India, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, deserves better custodians. It deserves governments that understand that medals are won not just on mats and tracks, but through respect, planning, and care.
If this incident is allowed to fade without punishment, the message to every aspiring athlete will be cruel and unmistakable: your performance matters, but your dignity does not. And that would be the gravest betrayal — not of sports alone, but of the nation.
“I urge the government to ensure that no other sportsperson ever has to face what we went through,” said athlete Basnabi Pattnaik.
In a country that dreams of Olympic podiums, we must ensure that no sportsperson is ever forced to fight for dignity.
(The writer is a senior multimedia journalist.)