new delhi: National Sports Federations will not be allowed to deviate from an “athlete-centric” approach, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday as he asked them to end factionalism and nepotism to ensure that India’s 2036 Olympic bid is successful.
At an elaborate ceremony to launch the first set of certificates in Digilocker, a cloud-based platform for storage, easy-sharing and verification of documents and certificates, the minister did not mince words in addressing the issues that plague NSFs.
“I don’t like to interfere in NSFs but it doesn’t mean that they are allowed to deviate from the athlete-centric approach of the government,” Mandaviya said in his address to representatives from 40 NSFs, who showed up for the digital initiative’s formal launch.
“I have spoken to various factions in different federations and I have told them to work on it and ensure that athletes don’t suffer,” he added.
“You have to serve the athletes and they suffer when there is factionalism. I will
not allow that.”