Lack of clarity on Asiad contingent clearance

The confusion over the clearance of the contingent for the Asian Games is unprecedented. This is not to suggest everything was smooth before.

What baffles many is the failure of the Government to come out with a cogent argument for including some athletes and axing a few. Lack of clarity has generated a heated debate.

Illogical norms

At the bottom of it lies the ill-conceived and illogical set of norms. True, it is impossible to codify a uniform yardstick for all disciplines. For instance, medal chances alone cannot and, should not, be the criteria for table tennis, badminton, shooting, wrestling, boxing, and weightlifting because the standard of these disciplines in the Asian level is world class.

India has performed with merit in these disciplines. Therefore the players require full backing. In fact, there was an element of surprise when reports floated stating that table tennis could be axed on the assessment that medal prospects were bleak.

What frustrates many is the war of words between the federations and the Sports Authority of India. Given the proclivity of the officials to jump on to the bandwagon at the first opportunity, sometimes at the expense of the players themselves, SAI and the Sports Ministry were more than circumspect.

But shifting the whole issue to the door of the Prime Minister’s Office amounts to passing the buck.

Eventually the outcome has only invited adverse reaction. Those left out are exploring legal options. The task of finalising the contingent could have been handled more professionally involving the stakeholders — the federations, the IOA, the SAI and the Ministry.

One provision the federations misuse without a hint of compunction is “the no cost to government” clause. It is the easiest way to circumvent any shortcomings in the selection process and sending a favoured few in total disregard to the nation’s image or the quality of performance.

Shocking elimination

But a ruthless elimination of this clause is shocking. In some cases it is necessary. For instance, the support staff in hockey is very much part of the official squad. The assistant coach, Jude Felix, belongs to the strategy planning group. His inputs are as important as that of the chief coach.

Eyebrows are understandably raised over the tick mark for football (men and women), wushu, handball, and basketball (women). How wushu sneaked in above karate is debatable given the fact that the latter sport is practised by more across the country.

Even volleyball is lucky to survive the guillotine though its beach version got the sack. Also in the excluded list are bowling, modern pentathlon, rugby, soft tennis, fencing and triathlon.

Beyond a shadow of doubt, the IOA’s wishlist of 942 (662 competitors and 280 officials) was unimaginable especially in the absence of cue sports and chess from the Games. It was inevitable for the SAI and the Ministry to take a close look and contemplate on downsizing the contingent. But the dissenting voices forced them to seek a bailout by the PMO.

Reports indicate a scope for re-examining the clearance for support staff and relaxing the “no cost to government,” clause in some cases.