Athlete had to return home barefoot after losing his shoes at a Ramlila ceremony where he was felicitated

Archer wins gold, loses footwear

Athlete had to return home barefoot after losing his shoes at a Ramlila ceremony where he was felicitated

Rahul Banerjee didn't put a foot wrong on his way to winning gold in the recurve event in men's archery at CWG 2010. But the World No. 1 in no way appeared well-heeled on his way back from a Ramlila ceremony in east Delhi on Monday night.

Take a bow: Rahul Banerjee's sister Dola Banerjee is also an archer.

Reason: the Reebok shoes, which he wore on his way to Games glory was stolen at the ceremony where he was felicitated.

The incident took place at the premises of the Indraprashta Vistar Ramlila Committee in IP extension area.
Rahul, however, is rather pleased.

"Thank God! If a person's belongings are stolen from a sacred place that means he is lucky. Probably a misfortune would have come over me but now I am safe," he reportedly told his coach after the incident.u00a0
Rahul along with Dola, Gagandeep, Deepika Kumari and Delhi state archery association president Viren Singh Sachdeva were called by the Ramlila committee, who wanted to decorate them for winning medals at the Games.u00a0u00a0

"We removed our shoes before climbing on the stage. We spent half-an-hour at the ceremony. When we were leaving Rahul could not find his shoes. He searched a lot and called the committee's members but no one could find them," said Sachdeva.

Sachdeva added that Rahul and the others returned to Games Village in a car. Rahul then called his friend Jayant to bring a pair of shoes which he wore before stepping inside.

"No one was particularly unhappy. We were all in agreement that this was a good sign as the incident occurred at a religious place. We did not report the matter to police as there was no need for it," Sachdeva added.