Rajkot, Oct 10 (IANS): Ace India swimmer Srihari Nataraj has flayed leading Indian carrier, IndiGo's staff for behaving "with him badly" and charging him "hefty amount" for excess baggage while he was returning home after competing in the 36th National Games, currently underway in several cities in Gujarat.

The 21-year-old Olympian, who had made it to the Tokyo Olympics last year after he clocked the 'A' standard time in men's 100m backstroke time trial at an event in Rome and gave some sterling performance at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, clinched six gold medals at the National Games across different categories for Karnataka.

In a series of tweets on Monday morning, Nataraj said, "I was returning from the National Games held in Gujarat, and the staff not only behaved badly, but also charged us a hefty amount for excess baggage which was the medals and goodies that we athletes had won."

Nataraj said while the amount charged for the excess baggage wasn't a big issue for him, the way he was treated at the airport by the airlines' staff had miffed him. He said his teammates too were not treated properly.

"Honestly, the amount wasn't an issue, it's the way they treated me and my teammates. Should we leave the medals we win back at the venue? @IndiGo6E," Nataraj questioned the airlines.

Nataraj had landed in Rajkot for the swimming events all excited as it was his maiden National Games. The 21-year-old had skipped the recent National Championships in Guwahati, held soon after the Commonwealth Games, and had utilised the time to prepare for the National Games.