IOA Errs During Asian Games Prize Ceremony

Narinder Batra apologized for the mistake.GETTY IMAGES

The Indian Olympic Association "was left red-faced" during Sunday's felicitation ceremony to award cash prizes to Asian Games medalists as the governing body "got multiple names wrong on the cheques and even missed out on one," according to the PTI. Around 15 medalists were given "just bouquets" as their names were "misprinted on cheques." The IOA awarded Rs 3 lakh ($4,200), Rs 2 lakh ($2,800) and RS 1 lakh ($1,400), respectively, to the gold, silver and bronze medal winners in the team events. IOA President Narinder Batra said, "I would like to apologize in advance for our mistake. The names of around 14 to 15 players have been printed incorrectly so we will give them a bouquet. But don't worry, you will get your cash prizes. I didn't want to give cheques with misspelled names" (PTI, 9/23).