Olympic Games: India banned

Still fresh from their best-ever showing in the Olympics in London this year, Indian athletes now face the prospect of suffering the humiliation of not being able to participate under their tri-colour national flag at the next Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and most importantly at the Rio Olympics in 2016. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) last week on the ground of ‘government interference’ and not following the Olympics charter in holding its election. Shamefully, with this, India joins the dubious list of nations like Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.

Unfortunately, the IOA has become the playground of self-serving and power hungry officials and their political patrons who did not pay any heed to the repeated warnings from the IOC regarding conducting polls in accordance with the original Constitution and Olympics Charter. The IOA paid the price for its deliberate reluctance to adhere to the charter despite a clear communication from the IOC that the IOA would face suspension if it doesn’t clear its stand on the sports code. Astonishingly, as is public fodder news now, IOA went ahead and conducted elections under National Sports Code (which puts a bar of age and tenure) even after being suspended. Additionally, the ethics commission of the IOC clearly stated that Suresh Kalmadi, Lalit Bhanot and V K Verma should not be involved in the functioning of the IOA due to their alleged involvement in the Commonwealth Games scam. Lalit Bhanot’s candidacy as secretary-general of the IOA, with overwhelming support from the political faction of the IOA, may have tipped the IOC executive board to suspend it.

Such a shameful event not only brings disgrace for the sporting body but also puts a huge question mark on our international sporting credentials. Should a group of individuals bent on hanging on to their dead horses be allowed to make a ramshackle circus out of the careers of hundreds of individuals whose lives have been built on the Olympic dream? Why is the Indian government not speaking out in vociferous terms over the IOA’s shenanigans? Clearly, almost all, if not all, seems to be lost.