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Sports : General
By V.V. Subrahmanyam
It may be recalled that the Railway Sports Control Board (RSCB) had issued a directive to all its athletes to stop attending the preparatory camps for the Games and also from participating in the Games itself in protest against the "indifferent'' attitude of the Indian Olympic Association in treating Railways on par with the other Institutional team, Services, which had been given entry over the years in the Games. Interestingly, the IOA too started making some serious moves that could have wider ramifications on the future of the athletes itself. One of the drastic measures that the IOA is contemplating is to bar the athletes from representing the respective National Federations. The crux of the IOA argument is that since Services has been one of the founder members of the IOA and an affiliated member for more than four decades, Railways cannot expect the same preferential treatment. What is also clearly pointed out is that since Railways is not even affiliated to the IOA, there is no question of granting it an entry in the Hyderabad edition of the Games. Consequently the organising committee is going ahead with its plans to conduct the Games in the most befitting manner irrespective of whether the Railway athletes take part or not. "The onus is on their side. They cannot blackmail us like this at the last minute,'' said an official of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India which has been involved in the sport for more than three decades. Even, Mr. J.S. Grewal of the Cycling Federation of India and also the chairman of the Affiliation and Disputes Committee of the IOA, made it amply clear to the host that there cannot be any question of buckling under pressure. The normal process is that first an aspirant has to apply for affiliation to the IOA. That will be put forward before the Appeals Committee which will then recommend it to the IOA executive committee for the final decision. Significantly, Mr. Grewal also pointed out to the host that he is against this "blackmailing'' attitude. He reportedly went to the extent of saying that as the chairman of the Appeals Committee he would not give his nod for Railways to get the affiliation. "Even if it does mean that the IOA relents later, for reasons best known to the august members of the executive committee,'' he remarked. Meanwhile, hectic parleys have already begun with some of the key and powerful members of the IOA keen to come down heavily on the Railways for its "strange and defiant attitude'' just ahead of the Games. They even suggested that it was time that IOA launches a counter-offensive by issuing a veiled threat that if the Railways sticks to its decision, let its athletes face the consequences of being disallowed in all the national meets conducted by the different National Federations with whom the RSCB has an affiliation. Acknowledging that Railways has been one of the biggest employers in terms of recruiting outstanding sportspersons over the years, it doesn't automatically qualify for favours at the last minute. They remind the "aggrieved'' party that though it has been providing employment, it is the respective State Governments which are equally magnanimous in giving cash incentives. They point out the latest instance when J.J. Shobha, Busan Asian Games bronze medallist, was presented Rs. 5 lakhs for her fine achievement. Still, to avoid any further embarrassment on the organisational front and with the sole objective of seeing that the athletes do not suffer because of the boardroom politics of the bigwigs, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, has been reportedly asked to intervene and take up the issue with the Railway authorities. Even the AP Olympic Association, which has been virtually pushed to the backseat with the secretary having the ignominy of being forced to seek permission from the top brass of the SAAP before communicating with any National Federation, wrote to the Union Railway Ministers, Mr. Nitish Kumar, and Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya (who represents Secunderabad in the Lok Sabha) to take corrective measures. Yet, it is pretty obvious that more than the Railways as an Institution member it is the fate of the athletes which hangs in balance. Even after five days after the RSCB issued the directive barring its athletes from taking part in the Games, the organising committee has decided in principle not to accommodate Railways in the Games as it is "not feasible at this juncture with the event only three weeks away.'' Will Railways relent or will the IOA come out with an alternative plan to ensure that the cream of Indian sport take part in the Games is the big question?
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