The Mess in the IOA

The Destruction of Sports in India

Ever since Suresh Kalmadi, the disgraced and criminally charge sheeted erstwhile President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), made his foray into the management and administration of first the Indian Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) and subsequently the IOA, the National Sports Federations (NSFs) and the State Olympic Associations (SOAs) were politicized and made into the personal fiefdoms of politicians; who did little else than exploit their charge for making their presence in their political constituency, for political gains and advantage. The other minions who bent over backwards to please and help sustain these pseudo sports leaders for near perpetuity, enjoyed the loot that was on offer as a quid pro quo for the trust reposed in them through the instrument of the vote cast in their favour, in the democratic dispensation that governs the constitution of sports bodies. The present imbroglio which has ensnared the elections to the offices in the executive committee is a disaster which was waiting to happen, sooner than later. The corpulent and vernacular Abhay Singh Chautala, who is the sole aspirant to the post of President IOA and is most likely to be elected unopposed in the elections, as and when these are held in the immediate future, is himself involved in a controversy for the arbitrary manner in which the elections in the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) were held, wherein his brother in law has been passed on the baton for a period of four years to preside over the future of the pugilists, who will train and compete under the aegis of the said federation. Not only that, to add insult to injury, he has supported the candidature of a tainted person, who made national headlines by philosophically espousing different hygiene standards of Indians and Europeans, during the turbulent build up to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, 2010. He is none other than the scam embroiled Dr Lalit Bhanot, who is contesting un opposed for the office of the Secretary General IOA.

Like the politics of the country and its disgraced politicians, the fate of the IOA and the NSFs / SOAs is no different, wherein criminals who were lodged in the country’s Tihar Jail, continue to take shelter behind the facade of not having been proven guilty in a court of law, which moves like a donkey in dispensing judgement. While a judgement awaits promulgation, the interim period is used to advantage by the accused, under the labyrinthine tenets and provisions of law. The argument is used to justify assertions of little minds, which hide behind the canons and procedures of Indian jurisprudence. The political leadership of the country is replete with examples of such lumpish persons, who become a precedent to quote when arguing in favour of venality in public life. Lalit Bhanot and his future first executive in the IOA are persons who flog this argument to their positional advantage. What has sports management and administration in the country come to? Where the country is at a loss to find such suitable persons to tenant the pivotal offices of the President and Secretary General of the apex body, IOA. There couldn’t be a bigger shame to engulf the country’s sport, at a time when things are looking bright for its sportspersons in the wake of their performance in the just concluded London Games. The prospect of the IOA being de recognised by the international conglomeration of national sports associations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and being debarred from participating in events held under its aegis, is a loaded possibility that stares Indian sportspersons.

Having anticipated the existing situation as it seizes Indian sports today, I as the Secretary of the Army Sports Control Board (ASCB) had put up a proposal to the Chairman Integrated Staff (CIS) to the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CSC), way back in 2004, to restructure the sports organization within the Armed Forces and make an attempt to seek affiliation of each of the Services, viz Army, Navy, and Air Force to the NSFs and the IOA. This would enable the Services to leverage its interests within the federation and the association and take control of the happenings, as these would affect and impact sports and sportspersons. By making this happen, each of the Service would have had three votes in the election process to any of the office bearers in either the NSFs or else the IOA. In a democratic dispensation where numbers and correspondingly votes is an imperative ingredient to acquire authority or else enable to make a good choice of people to steer sports bodies for the larger good of sports and sportspersons, ours would have been a major presence to contend with. But it was most unfortunate that, the proposal was dropped for considerations which emanated more from the colour of the uniforms than any objections to its inherent merits. Well, that is how many a good suggestion or else a recommendation is dropped, only because it stems from abject parochialism than a larger good that encompasses the interests of the multitude. And history is replete with such instances, which spring up from time to time, only to be ignored by those who could have shown some sagacity and vision for a noble cause, which serves the interests of a much larger spread of people. Had we exerted our will at that point in time to go with the proposal of seeking individual affiliations for the Army, Navy and The Air Force, ours would have been a conglomerate which would have called the shots in cleansing the Augean Stables of Indian Sports.

The threat which looms large and real over the horizon of Indian Sports, with the rot which has eaten into the vitals of the sports bodies and has not been stemmed, could have possibly been avoided, had our Lt Generals, Air Marshals and Vice Admirals not succumbed to the demons of the mind, which always prevent one from taking a bold and out of the box decision. An opportunity was missed and we continue to wallow in the sad state of affairs, which obtain in our sports management and administration culture. The IOA is obdurate and pig headed in not adopting the very same provisos of the Olympics Charter as contained in clauses 16 (3) and 19 (2 and 3), regarding the age and tenure criterion of office bearers and as reiterated in the Sports Code Bill, enunciated by the Government. Thereby, making a case for the IOC to interpret the matter as one of Government interference in the affairs of the IOA and hence not maintainable in keeping with its constitution. The IOC, should it come true on its veiled threat, will put to shame the country and assail the sports interests of the country’s youth. What a pity that such a mess, has been given as a legacy by these unscrupulous politicians, who have been playing this joke on the people of India for far too long.

Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal

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