New Delhi: Some of India's leading athletes, including Dutee Chand, could be without their favourite coaches at the Games Village during the Rio Olympics beginning next month.

According to sources, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has turned down the request to take coaches of sprinter Dutee Chand, discus thrower Vikas Gowda, shot putter Inderjit Singh and triple jumper Renjith Maheshwari to Rio as it was not possible to accommodate them in the contingent.

"The Rio organisers are very strict this time. The number of coaches and support staff should not be more than 40 to 45 per cent of the number of athletes," said an IOA official.

Since a quota of 15 coaches and support staff was given to the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for their 36-member squad, several top coaches found themselves out of the Rio-bound squad this time. The 15-member support staff includes two managers - CK Valson, the secretary of the AFI and Hanuman Prasad.

While Dutee Chand will be without her coach L Ramesh, who helped the Odisha athlete to make a comeback and become the first Indian to qualify for the Olympics, Gowda would not be able to get the help of his father and coach Shive Gowda.

Like Dutee and Gowda, triple jumper Renjith and shot putter Inderjit also wanted to have their coaches, Nishad Kumar and Pritam Singh respectively, on the official list.

"There seems to be two sets of rules," said an official. "There is only one 800 metres woman athlete in the contingent - Tintu Luka. Her coach, PT Usha, has been cleared but not the coach of Jinson Johnson, the 800m runner in the men's team," he added.

A sports ministry official, however, said efforts are on to send these coaches, who did not find place in the Rio-bound squad, separately. The organisers would also be requested to issue training venue pass (TVP) to these coaches.