IOC cracks whip, suspends India for government interference in elections
5 Dec 2012 6:47 AM IST
In what comes as a major embarrassment for India, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for its failure to conduct independent elections as per the Olympic charter. The decision to impose the sanction was taken on the eve of IOA polls by IOC executive committee which met at Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
While IOA will stop receiving IOC grants and expertise, the suspension also means Indian athletes will be barred from competing in any Olympic event. At most, IOC can allow them to compete under the Olympic flag as independent participants. The stand also crushes all hopes of attaining higher Olympic glory after India won a record six medals at the 2012 London Olympics.
While it will take a little time before the full repercussions of the IOC ban emerge, the blame game has started all over again. ‘From the start to finish, Randhir Singh is responsible for the entire mess. To save his chair he can do anything. He should resign first (as IOC member from India) because he has spread all the dirt in Indian sports,’ IOA president-elect Abhay Singh Chautala said.
‘High time that IOA is cleaned of some jokers. Then we can carry on. We have amended our constitution two or three times and that has got us into trouble. IOC has been watching us closely.
We didn’t adhere to their guidelines,’ said Randhir.
Meanwhile, the decision didn’t come as a big surprise, especially after IOA decided to go ahead with the elections under the government’s Sports Code, defying IOC’s directions to hold polls under the Olympic Charter in order to uphold its autonomy. Instead, IOA kept urging that it was bound by a Delhi High Court order.
Commenting on the issue, sports minister Jitendra Singh, ‘The sports ministry is ready to sit down with the two parties. It is very simple, IOA has to change the constitution and make it in accordance with IOC charter. The time is not to point fingers at each other.’
While IOA will stop receiving IOC grants and expertise, the suspension also means Indian athletes will be barred from competing in any Olympic event. At most, IOC can allow them to compete under the Olympic flag as independent participants. The stand also crushes all hopes of attaining higher Olympic glory after India won a record six medals at the 2012 London Olympics.
While it will take a little time before the full repercussions of the IOC ban emerge, the blame game has started all over again. ‘From the start to finish, Randhir Singh is responsible for the entire mess. To save his chair he can do anything. He should resign first (as IOC member from India) because he has spread all the dirt in Indian sports,’ IOA president-elect Abhay Singh Chautala said.
‘High time that IOA is cleaned of some jokers. Then we can carry on. We have amended our constitution two or three times and that has got us into trouble. IOC has been watching us closely.
We didn’t adhere to their guidelines,’ said Randhir.
Meanwhile, the decision didn’t come as a big surprise, especially after IOA decided to go ahead with the elections under the government’s Sports Code, defying IOC’s directions to hold polls under the Olympic Charter in order to uphold its autonomy. Instead, IOA kept urging that it was bound by a Delhi High Court order.
Commenting on the issue, sports minister Jitendra Singh, ‘The sports ministry is ready to sit down with the two parties. It is very simple, IOA has to change the constitution and make it in accordance with IOC charter. The time is not to point fingers at each other.’
Next Story
