If you thought Mission Admission at Delhi University meant the survival of the fittest at a purely academic level, then think again as the cut-throat competition has invaded the sports grounds too, with a tooth-and-nail fight becoming the norm for every available sports quota seat this admission season.
“We have received 2,000 applications for the 40 seats we have on offer for the sports category,” said Hans Raj College Principal Dr. V. K. Kawatra on Friday when the sports trials for cricket and table tennis were being held, adding that another 2,000 applications were also made for the ECA quota which had only eight seats to offer.
A physical test precedes the trial with only shortlisted candidates being allowed to compete at the trials. “There were very few students who could not pass the test. To accommodate the numbers the trials begin very early in the morning and go on till late evening,” added Dr. Kawatra.
A few blocks down the road is Hindu College whose sports quota in cricket has served many professional cricketers. “Gautam Gambhir got his B.Com. (Honours) seat here through the sports quota, other notable cricketers who played for this College include Murali Kartik and Ajay Jadeja among many others,” said Hindu College Principal Dr. Pradyum Kumar, adding that their basketball team which won the inter-college championship last year was also looking to admit students through the quota.
However, here too there are 500 applications for the 39 or even lesser seats available. “We reserve 5% in every course for sports and ECA quota together and it is either ECA or sports which have the bigger share of quotas,” he said, adding that they had received around 1,000 applications for the ECA quota and it was a tough task deciding which quota got a bigger share of the pie since most of their applicants in sports and ECA were above average performers. “We will be allowing everyone who has applied for the ECA to appear for the preliminary trials, but students cannot appear for the sports trials unless they have passed the physical test conducted by a team of experts chosen by the University,” he said, adding that the trials would begin early next week.
The neighbouring Ramjas College has also been flooded with 554 applications for the 23 actual seats on offer. “We will put up the list of those passing the physical test on Saturday. The trials will start from Monday and go on till Thursday,” said Sports Coordinator Manisha Chakravortty.
Shri Ram College of Commerce also had about 442 applications for the 20 sports quota seats it has to offer. The college does not have any ECA quota. St. Stephen’s, with its own admission procedure, is also offering about 20 sports quota seats. The trials started on Tuesday and are slated to go on till June 29.
The scene is no different at the smaller South Campus colleges. “We had to screen 100 applications for about 20 seats that we have for sports, we do not have separate forms for ECA and let anyone who is interested compete at the trials for the 20 seats we have on offer,” said Kamala Nehru College spokesperson Geetesh Nirban.
