The Hindu : Sport : Accountability needed from federations: Dutt

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 02, 2004

Sport

Sport - Sports : General

Accountability needed from federations: Dutt

CHENNAI, OCT. 1. Dismissing the coaches for dope related incidents at the Athens Olympics reflected the Government's immediate reaction but the Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Mr. Sunil Dutt has initiated discussions with the various federations to underscore the need for accountability.

Speaking at the ICL-SDAT squash academy where he had come along with Mr. N. Ramachandran, the Secretary-General SRFI, on Friday to see the world-class facilities for squash, Mr. Dutt said he had taken the initiative and spoken to various federations. "I am waiting for the Maharashtra elections to end to become free for more discussions," he said.

It is his belief that when the federations come with requests for funds for coaching schemes and foreign exposure, then they should show results in return. Essentially there should be more coordination between the federations and the Government.

Mr. Dutt agreed matters like reviewing the government priority list of various sporting disciplines based on performance can be considered. "These points will come up in my discussions with the federations," he said, He was also keen to look into why Indians fail at the highest level. "See Anju George, she beats the Olympic champion Tatyana Lebedeva at a meet in Japan. How does such thing come about?" he wondered, adding, "we have also to interact with the athletes and other sportspersons to get their view."

Mr. Dutt was all for good talent getting foreign exposure in some of the best academies in the world. "In fact I feel even coaches should undergo advanced training abroad so that they could be equipped with the latest in the field of coaching," he said.

Asked if politicians taking over federations was a good sign, the Minister said, "it is all right if the politician concerned has a background in the sport, so that he can use his influence for the betterment of it." Earlier in a brief address, Mr. Dutt said more businessmen like Mr. Ramachandran should come forward to pump in money into sports and inspire our sportspersons. "I have been briefed on the achievements of Saurav Ghosal and Joshna Chinappa at the international level and I hope with the facilities here they should be inspired to strike gold in the Qatar Asian Games," he said.