A livid Mohammed Azharuddin vented his anger against media reports that he was romantically linked with badminton player Jwala Gutta, by describing the reports as 'disgusting'.
Rumours of the former India cricket captain seeing the already-married Jwala Gutta have been circulating in the media and on the internet. These reports have gone to the extent of stating that the Moradabad Congress MP has filed for divorce from his wife Sangeeta Bijlani.
Azharuddin described his relationship with Jwala Gutta as nothing but good friendship, and said that he admired her as "she is a very good player".
The former cricketer said that the rumours had started to circulate after he made known his bid to become president of the Badminton Association of India.
He said that the stories are 'planted' and motivated by his detractors in the BAI.
Azharuddin further requested the media not to drag Jwala into a controversy as she is happily married to national badminton champion Chetan Anand.
He said that he was very hurt by the reports which he said were baseless, fabricated and in bad taste, and appealed to the media not to hurt Jwala Gutta as well.
Azharuddin divorced his first wife Naureen to marry former Bollywood actress Sangeeta Bijlani, 14 years ago. He has 2 sons from his first marriage, Asaduddin and Abbasuddin.