By Paul Osborne

Prasanta Karmakar and Jai Deep were handed empty envelopes during a felicitating ceremony for Indian athletes who participated at Glasgow 2014 ©Getty ImagesIndian Para-athletes Prashant Karmakar and Jai Deep have been left empty handed after the envelopes containing their prize money for participating at Glasgow 2014 were found to be cheque-free.

The pair were guests at a ceremony for athletes who won medals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Despite neither Karmakar nor Singh winning medals at the Games, they were both added to the list of people set to collect prize money for their participation in Glasgow, according to Haryana Paralympic Association general secretary Giriraj Singh.

Swimmer Karmakar and discus thrower Singh were expecting to be awarded cheques for INR500,000 (£4,859/$8,157/€6,102), however, both were handed empty envelopes by Haryana chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda during the ceremony in Sonepat.

The Government has admitted its lapse, calling it a clerical mistake.

Haryana chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the man given the honour of handing out the envelopes at the ceremony ©Getty ImagesHaryana chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the man given the honour of handing out the envelopes at the ceremony ©Getty Images


Despite the admittance, Singh has expressed his "hurt" at the Government's mistake.

"I stood fourth in discuss throw at CWG (Commonwealth Games)," he said.

"I was deeply hurt after opening the envelope.

"The Government should not treat sports-persons like this."

The Haryana sports department has assured that their cheques will be sent to them in 10 days' time.

Organised at the Rajiv Gandhi Education City in Sonepat, Hooda distributed cheques at the ceremony on Friday (August 8) for INR13.72 crore (£1.33 million/$2.24 million/€1.68 million) to various state players who represented the country at the Games

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