Sambhalpur (Odisha) [India], December 25 (ANI): In a shocking incident, a group of 18 athletes from Odisha endured severe hardships as they were made to sit near the toilets during their train journey to participate in the National School Wrestling Championship in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia.

The contingent, comprising 10 boys and 8 girls, had to travel in a general coach near the train washrooms in biting cold due to the lack of confirmed tickets.

Following the incident, Odisha Education Minister Nityananda Gond took cognizance and said that the matter will be carefully looked into, followed by an inquiry, adding that action will be taken after gathering the exact details of the incident.

'I have been informed that our students who travelled to UP for the national championships encountered inconvenience during their train journey due to a ticket issue. We will certainly look into this and initiate an inquiry into what happened. Then we will take any action,' Gond told ANI.

Basnabi Pattnaik, one of the athletes travelling with the contingent, expressed strong outrage over the incident, saying the group had to bear hardships. She urged the government to provide special reservations for sportspersons to ensure that no athlete has to face such an ordeal in the future.

Speaking to ANI, she said, 'I study in class 9. We went to Ballia for our National School Wrestling Championship. We had to face many difficulties because our tickets were not confirmed. Only two seats were confirmed, where the coaches were sleeping. While returning, we had to sit near the train's bathroom. We had to travel for about 36 hours. We demand from the government that no other sportsperson should suffer something like this, and a special reservation should be made for them.'

Sanjeeb Pattnaik, the athlete's father, added to his daughter's ordeal, saying, 'My daughter is a wrestler. She went to play the National School Wrestling Championship. During the journey, there was a lot of disorganisation. They didn't have confirmed tickets. The athletes were sitting outside the bathroom, near the toilets. I saw everything, and I felt very sad. The athletes were eating and drinking right there in the train, wherever they were sitting. In total, 18 athletes went - eight girls and ten boys - along with two coaches and two managers.' (ANI)