Panaji: Yash Fadte has returned home for his summer break from the University of Rochester in New York. But while the squash champion is happy reuniting with his family, Goa doesn’t really bring back good memories.
It reminds him of the time when he was forced to make three trips from his home in Vasco to Panaji to get reimbursed for Rs 5,300, a travel expense for the National School Games. Or the time when the state assembly discussed his achievements, promised to help and then went cold.
“I’ve always did the best I could for Goa, but the government let me down,” Yash, four-time medallist at the Asian junior squash championships and the first Indian to win United States Junior Open and French Open, told TOI on Wednesday. “There was no support. It’s my father who backed me all along. Forget appreciation, all that I have got here is humiliation.”
Yash, 20, needs no introduction to sports enthusiasts in Goa.
He’s among Goa’s biggest sports achievers, winning plenty of medals for the state at the national level. Just two years ago, Yash was ranked among the top five junior squash players in Asia and did India proud by winning the silver at the Asian junior squash championships three years ago.
Politicians, which includes chief minister Pramod Sawant, have been lavish in their praise on him. Words of appreciation even flowed in the state assembly, but nobody really walked the talk, forcing the Vasco lad to accept a four-year scholarship from the University of Rochester, located in western New York.
“I was asked to apply for the grants. I dutifully filled all the forms, prepared a file and handed it over to the Sports Authority of Goa. Since there was no response, I inquired and was told one document was not submitted,” said Yash.
He rushed to the SAG office, checked the file and the document they were looking out for was right there in the middle of the file.
“These officials are not serious. They are just not bothered about sportspersons,” said Yash.
SAG officials, though, have a different story to tell.
“The application has to be routed through the association and only then can we release funds. Someone has to be accountable for the money released. The funds are available for Yash. We have nothing against him or any sportsperson,” said a senior SAG official.
Yash has probably heard this before, so when he realised that the state government had no intention of backing his dream of becoming a world champion, he turned to those who were chasing him for a while.
“I chose the University of Rochester for its excellent track record and facilities. Moreover, coach Martin Heath is a former world number 3. Officials at home (in Goa) never appreciated me. Rochester gave me lot of respect,” he said.
At Rochester, Yash is fast growing into a top player, doing better …….