Indian sport administrators need to step up as athletes continue to raise the bar

Neeraj Chopra has been consistent at the international level and Avinash Sable’s steeplechase silver could easily be labelled as India’s best at the Commonwealth Games in

, England. The rhetoric around Indian sport, understandably, is positive. The Prime Minister’s words at the recent interaction with CWG medallists are a clear case in point.

However, the moment we turn our gaze to the administrative structure in Indian sport, federations and the people administering them, things are a complete mess.

While the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has already caused national embarrassment and chances are India might lose the rights to host the U-17 Women’s World Cup, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is also mired in controversy. With no elections held, the IOA too was placed under a Committee of Administrators (COA) by the Delhi HC, an order that was later stayed by the Supreme Court.

While this started with Archery and cricket, we now have court-appointed committees running multiple sports federations in India, including hockey and table tennis.

Are CoA’s the solution? Why weren’t the IOA elections held in time? Was it because charge-sheeted officials refused to make way? Why are constitutions drafted which don’t adhere to international norms and will not find takers at the global level?

A few weeks back India passed an antidoping bill. It was passed by both the houses of parliament and is a hugely welcome development. Parliament passed it because India is a signatory to the UNESCO convention on anti-doping. Now with regards to this we can’t perhaps say that we will not adhere to WADA norms when it comes to doping in India. If WADA bans a substance, India has to ban it as well. In any situation where the international statutes or mandates have to be followed, India will need to follow it whether it likes it or not. To allow individual voters in the AIFF elections won’t really work with FIFA. If the international mandate doesn’t permit individual voters, the sports code needs to be amended in sync with the international norm for that’s the only way out of this situation. In a global sporting ecosystem, local laws will always have to be framed in sync with international norms.

So, what’s the way forward? Will the efforts to help change Indian sports be undone by poor governance from federation heads and others? Can the judiciary help cleanse the system? Will the Sports Ministry be able to play the pivotal role in helping with this process?

So far specified timelines have often been ignored as we have seen in the case of the AIFF. The Delhi High Court had appointed the COA on 31 October 2017 and an SLP was filed in the Supreme Court on 10 November 2017. The AIFF case was next heard in the apex court on 18 May 2022.

Will the

do a FIFA on India in the next few months if the IOA doesn’t get its house in order?

The writing is on the wall. Just like the athletes who now have accountability and are held responsible for the monies spent on them, administrators also need to be made accountable. Elections need to be held on time and things not pushed over the cliff leaving courts no option but to appoint a committee. For those sports federations which already have CoAs running the show, the faster democratically elected bodies are put in place the better it is for them. CoA’s are an unfortunate necessity and nothing more than that.

From 1976 onwards, the post-Olympics headlines were always about disparity in India’s billion-plus population and meagre medal returns. Tokyo 2021 showed that things have changed. There is positivity about India becoming a multi-sporting nation. The highest leaders of the country, at the center and states, helped with this change. This shouldn’t go to waste. Athletes and fans deserve better.