New Delhi/Nanjing: Its the proudest moment of an athlete to win a medal for your country at the International level and the most proudest being to see the your country’s flag being raised after you are felicitated for your achievement. But the fate has denied this moment from Indian athletes who are participating in the Asian Youth Games 2013 held in Nanjing, china.
The Indian athletes are participating in the 2nd Asian youth games as independent athletes, under the banner of Olympic Council of Asia because Indian Olympic Association is currently banned by International Olympic Committee due to political interference, so, if any Indian player wins the gold medal in these games, neither the Indian flag will be raised nor the Indian National Anthem will be played, which is a bit unfortunate for the young players who are representing their country at the top most level.
Cause of this problem:
The root cause of the issue lies in the hands of the govt. When govt. tried to bring the Indian Olympic Association(IOA) under the proposed sports bill which includes few key points against the norms of the International Olympic Council(IOC). And as per the norms of the IOC a govt. can have its authority over the Olympic association of the country.
The IOC had been threatening the govt. of India, in a series of letters in the past few days to slap sanctions on India for following the government’s Sports Code in the IOA elections, which the international body insists is against the Olympic charter. The adherence to the Sports Code has been interpreted as “government interference in the Olympic movement” by the IOC.
Offended by govt.’s reply, the IOC suspended the Indian Olympic Association on 4th of December 2012.
Effects of the suspension:
The Indian athletes will not be allowed to compete under the tricolour but could be permitted to compete under the IOC flag. The Olympic Council of Asia and the Commonwealth Games Federation are also expected to follow suit, which will result in similar sanctions as far as the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games are concerned.
The IOA will no longer get funds from IOC and the officials will not be invited by the IOC to attend its events like the Olympics and Paralympics.
Nanjing Asian Asian games is the 2nd event:
This is not the first time that the Indian players are participating under the banner of OCA, even in the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Incheon, South Korea from 29 June to 6 July, Indian players took part as independent athletes under the same banner.
SHAME to India, over-aged athletes sent back
Nanjing/China: It was another day for India to forget in the International athletics, as 18 young Indian athletes have been asked to return home early from the Nanjing Asian Youth Games on Sunday after an official goof-up led to their disqualification as they were found to be overage.
These athletes were required to be under the age of 16, but most of the athletes who were sent by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) were above the age limit.
The athletes, part of the 27-member athletics squad, were already in the Chinese city when they were told to pack their bags and fly back home without competing in their events, leaving the squad in the important discipline severely depleted. Indian athletes are participating in the event as “Independent Olympic Athletes” as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is under suspension.
This setback has come just two days after four Indian badminton players landed in Nanjing to find that they had not even been entered in their respective events. They too are likely to return home without taking any part in the Games.
“AFI thought that the athletics in the Youth Games would follow the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) rules according to which post 1996-born players were eligible. The players were picked accordingly. But the Games are being held as per the International Olympic Committee ( IOC) rules. I am sure the organizers must have sent the rules of the Games to every federation, but someone might not have bothered to read them,” a source in the know of things told the media.
It was surprising that no one raised objections over their age when these athletes’ names were sent to the IOA or the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Even the organizers did not reject their online application and issued accreditation to them, just days before disqualifying them. The athletics events are starting on Monday.
“I got calls from the delegation about this issue. I am trying to confirm it. I have asked the AFI to explain as to what happened exactly,” Vijay Kumar Malhotra, acting president of the suspended IOA, told TOI.
Top SAI officials too said that if any athlete was disqualified then it was mainly because of AFI’s mistake. “The athletes had a selection trial in Thiruvanthapuram. After that AFI picked the athletes for the Games. It’s squarely AFI’s responsibility, if anything like this has happened,” SAI director general Jiji Thomson said.
When asked why SAI did not cross-check the athletes’ age and before clearing their names for the Games, Thomson said: “When a federation gives us a list, we never question it. It’s entirely its job to pick a team, until or unless we have been asked by the federation to help it.”
AFI secretary CK Valson could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Meanwhile, it has been learnt that four Indian shuttlers, who did not find their names in the entry list, could be heading back home too. According to sources, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) tried to help the Indian players and even asked other contending countries to agree to a re-draw but it did not succeed. “What we have come to know is that eight of the participating countries agreed for a re-draw, but three others objected. So it could not happen,” a source said. Badminton events began on Saturday.
Undeterred Indians start their medal hunt:
Indian players started the 2nd Asian Youth Games with a bang as Indian athletes bagged two bronze medals on the opening day of the games which are being held in Nanjing,China. A total of 90 Indian players are participating in this international multi-sporting event which is held every four years, for athletes aged between 14-17 years.
