|
Doping Indian Sports
Jagmohan Singh
| |
 Peeved at
the exclusion of Indian weightlifter Monika Devi from the
Beijing
Olympic Games, Jagmohan Singh writes an Open Letter to Sports
minister, Dr. Manohar Singh Gill, urging him to usher in a
sports revolution without the political administrators. |
|
 Dear Dr. Manohar
Singh Gill
Sat Sri Akal
After the
much-telecast fiasco on television of you not being able to
recognize badminton coach and former player Pulella Gopichand, I was
prompted to write this missive to you.
I am glad that
you have recognized Monika Devi. It was graceful of you to meet Ms.
Monika Devi, but all this enquiry business is a big sham. No
enquiry in this country has yielded results and this one too is not
expected to bring out anything more dramatic than what the people
know and what you know.
All the
officials of the National Dope Laboratory of India, Sports Authority
of India and the Indian Olympic Association should be shown the door
as you did to Indian Hockey Federation chief, KPS Gill. The lab
should be sealed for playing with careers of sportspersons and being
so easily vulnerable to manipulation.
| |
During the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese were able to present a
glittering façade of “all is well” in the country. Whether India
would be able to do even that in the coming Commonwealth Games
remains to be seen. The first step would be to replace Suresh
Kalmadi with Dr. Elattuvalapil Sreedharan of Delhi Metro.
Otherwise there will be many more Monika Devis. |
|
|
Sometime ago,
not very long ago, this lady, Laishram Monika Devi, was
unceremoniously removed from the aircraft to Beijing for having
“failed a doping test”, which according to the Indian Olympic
Association chief, Suresh Kalmadi, “was a great relief to save the
honour of the country”. Was the Indian Olympic Association not
aware that the tests have been carried out in the SAI lab which has
no accreditation from WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency)? Why were the
results of the tests which were conducted in June, released in
August, at the eleventh hour? Why were the results of the so called
test communicated to her barely 30 minutes before her departure?
Sadly, the
honour of the country could not be saved for more than 24 hours. It
was realized soon after that the test itself was doped by the
authorities in the same shameful way that they have been doping and
duping sports for the last few decades.
 Monika Devi
hails from Manipur and serves as a havildar in CRPF. Upon reaching
Manipur, she has said, “I will risk termination of service, but I
will abide by the decision taken by the people of Manipur. I will
not take part in any competition until justice is done to me,”
I am sure that
your staff would have informed you that the whole of Manipur –the
chief minister of Manipur, the Manipur Olympic Association, the
Manipur Students Association, the Manipur Women’s Hockey Federation,
the Manipur Athletics Association and even the man on the street is
crying: DISCRIMINATION.
The
discrimination against the Manipuri people has spilled from the
political arena into the sports arena confirming to all ethnic
minorities that in the highest echelons of administration in this
country, the colour of one’s skin and roots matter more than playing
capabilities. Perhaps, it was a very sinister way of “celebrating”
50 years of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. It seems that to
be a good Indian one has to show more patriotism than talent, isn’t
it? Someone in
Delhi
wanted to “teach a lesson” to the people of Manipur for “daring to
go to the Olympics” or were they scared of something more than that?
Dr Thokchom
Meinya, Member of Parliament from Manipur participated in a protest
in Delhi
and has demanded a white paper on the manipulative game of the
authorities.
 The solidarity
of the people of Manipur has encouraged the lady who has been in
tears for the last ten days into saying, “Even if my organisation
sacks me for not taking part in competitions, I will not change my
mind. But if the people of Manipur ask me to compete I will do so
happily.”
Monika Devi is
reported to have said, “The discrimination by sports officials of
India has
strengthened my commitment to improve my performance. I will work
harder to improve my participation and am still hoping to make it in
the next Olympics,” Be that as it may, she should be compensated for
the loss of the medal she could have one won. She should be awarded
exemplary compensation.
During the
Beijing Olympics, the Chinese were able to present a glittering
façade of “all is well” in the country. Whether
India would be
able to do even that in the coming Commonwealth Games remains to be
seen. The first step would be to replace Suresh Kalmadi with Dr.
Elattuvalapil Sreedharan of Delhi Metro. Otherwise there will be
many more Monika Devis.
Abhinav’s father
provided him with a 18 lakh rupee rifle, an air-conditioned shooting
range. Can the Indian sports authorities provide this to all other
players? If not, then is it not an unequal playing field for those
who cannot afford it?
Apart from the
eight gold medals, one silver medal and two bronzes in hockey,
bantamweight freestyle wrestler Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav gave
India
its first individual medal, winning bronze in the 1952 Helsinki
Games. Today, his wife is now wallowing in poverty and barely able
to make ends meet.
In the Haryana
state boxing championships in Wazirpur, that concluded on Sunday,
over 140 pugilists mostly from Bhiwani had nobody to look up to for
guidance as all the coaches appointed by the government were not
allowed to travel with them by the state government.
IOA chief Suresh
Kalmadi is reported to have said, that "Checking doping is our
national responsibility and I am happy the officials have done a
good job in the case of Monika Devi." He further went on to say
that, “Devi's absence in the Indian team would not hurt as she was
not expected to win a medal.”
Do we really
need such officials? What is the contribution of Mr. Kalmadi to the
cause of winning medals or furthering sports in the country? What
is his qualification except being too close to the powers that be?
A large crop of young sports administrators are being nurtured in
new sports schools and institutes. If they are to be effective,
they will have to be kept out of the influence and pressure of the
political and police administrators of sports. A directive from your
ministry to rid all sports organizations of police chiefs as
administrators should be sent out as a post-Beijing first step.
Sportsmen in
Punjab
recall the tenure of the IHF chief, Mr. Swami, who had to be removed
like KPS Gill, because he had started the ‘indianisation’ of Indian
hockey. Hockey players are crying for astroturfs and scientific
training.
While the
already rich Bindras may be happy with the financial rewards coming
their way, the shy Abhinav’s last laugh is pertinent: “It is fine to
celebrate our achievements, but it is just as important to keep up
the backing when we are not on top of our game.”
You do not have
much time before the elections arrive.
India and Punjab
should not remember you as a sports minister in whose reign India
won its first gold but as a visionary who put sports on the right
track.
With best
wishes.
Jagmohan Singh
Jagmohan Singh
is a commentator based in
Ludhiana. He may
be contacted at jsbigideas@gmail.com
20 August, 2008
|
Read Also
