Food served to kabaddi players in Uttar Pradesh kept in toilet

Photographs and videos of food served in a toilet to players who participated in a kabaddi tournament in Saharanpur district went viral on social media.

The state-level U-17 girls' Kabaddi tournament is being held in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh from Friday (September 16). As many as 200 players are participating in it.

A major controversy erupted after a junior player from the tournament claimed that the "same rice" is being served to the players which was seen to be kept in the stadium's toilet, according to a report by The Times of India.

"Food, including rice, 'dal' and 'sabji' were cooked in large vessels in a traditional brick oven near the swimming pool. From the vessel, cooked rice was taken out in a big plate and was placed on the toilet floor near its gate. Next to the rice plate, were leftover 'pooris' on a piece of paper on the floor. The rice was then served to the players for lunch on Friday," the player told the publication.

Animesh Saxena, sports officer of Saharanpur, termed the allegations "baseless" and dismissed the claims. "The food served to players here is of good quality," he said.

"There was a space crunch and the food was cooked near the stadium pool," Saxena said.

The issue was brought into Saxena's attention by a stadium official when some players raised the matter to him.