Amendment of Sports Bill must to keep National Sporting Federations clean

Recently, Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay singh Chautala were awarded with the post of Life Presidents by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). As we are all aware of the fact that both Kalmadi and Chautala are tainted. The former has also spent some time cooling his heels because of corruption charges. And now, IOA decided to reward these two in this fashion. Has IOA completely lost it? What will happen to the Sports Code Bill, which the government has been trying to amend for such a long time?

If at all the Sports Code Bill get amended, then the government has to somehow stop corrupt officials and people with criminal background to take control of the National Sports Federations (NSFs).

These federations will never stop fighting against the government if they have corrupt officials right at the top of the affairs. Amidst all these, the athletes suffer. Like Indian golfers SSP Chawrasia and Anirban Lahiri were not paid after the Rio Olympics.

Even BCCI faced the music on Monday after the Supreme Court sacked Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke from Indian cricket’s governing body. This is the kind of cleaning one expects and Sports Federations also need a serious scrutiny.

IOA has been facing the heat after a disastrous Rio Olympic 2016 and in spite of that the organisation continues to run in the same fashion as it was running before.  

IOA had even said that they are an independent body and they are not answerable to anybody after they awarded Kalmadi and Chautala. That is the kind of attitude that does not allow sports bodies to improve in this nation because they always had corrupt officials at the helm of the affairs.

To put a stop to these nuisances, government must amend the Sports Bill right away! Till then, God save Indian sports.

• Amendment of Sports Bill must
• IOA
• Indian Olympic Association
• Corruption
• Suresh Kalmadi