The coaches are: BI Fernandez (the Cuban boxing coach), Nusrathon Valiev (Uzbek judo coach), Dmitry Riaboucha (Ukrainian rowing coach), Lodin Erkhbayar (Mongolian coach) and Trendafil Stoitchev (Bulgarian weightlifting coach).

``Trying our level-best for more than a year to bring to Indian sportspersons upto medal winning performance we are deeply suprised (sic) to observe how the officials are literally destroying the results of our work,'' the coaches wrote in a joint letter. The two-page letter, most of which is in broken English, was sent to the ministry last week, a couple of days after the Indian Olympic Association announced the list ofsportspersons cleared for Bangkok.

The coaches have alleged that the present practice of cutting down names is affecting their work and demoralising the sportspersons -- ``... you started fighting against them long before their opponents did...'' -- and also creating a gap between the coaches and trainees, and leading to ``disbelief'' (sic) in the role of the coaches.

``We truly doubtful (sic) about the success of your system of sports with such logic of selection and with such attitude to your own sportspersons,'' the coaches said.

The coaches alleged the teams are psychologically affected because they fear that they could be axed at the last minute. This has also lead to a sense of insecurity which has hampered training. They have also indicated -- though without mentioning names, probably because they fear the sportspersons may be vicitmised in future -- that some of the dropped sportspersons had medal chances.

Prominent among those dropped include boxer Dingko Singh, considered one of thebrightest prospects in Indian boxing. He was adjudged best boxer in the last nationals. After being dropped, Dingko is believed to be depressed and has retreated into a shell. There have also been reports of him having hit the bottle.

The coaches have also criticised the decision to send teams with large numbers (like men and women's football and volleyball) which ``do not have even the remote chance of getting any medal in Bangkok.'' At the same time, they are upset that participants from individual sports have been dropped without even consulting the coaches. ``This makes us understand that saving money not the reason for the cut offs,'' they said.

They are among the 20-25 foreign coaches and experts who are handling Indian teams in various disciplines. According to government stipulations, many of them are paid US $1,500 a month, plus accommodation.

However, there are some coaches, like the ones employed by the Amateur Athletics Federation of India, who are paid more. The shortfall is made up by thefederation.

Neither the Sports Ministry, the IOA or the SAI has reacted to the letter from these coaches. As one of the coaches, who left in the first batch, said, ``Many of the officials have already left for Bangkok.''