It has emerged that India's elite athletes have increased the pressure on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and demanded the dismissal of all tainted officials in order to nullify the country’s Olympic ban.
To the knowledge of everyone, the IOA was suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year for electing Lalit Bhanot as its secretary general during its controversial December poll. This is the person who has served 11 months in jail on alleged corruption cases.
Remarkably, the IOC offered the country a lifeline, requesting the suspended IOA to amend its constitution and among other things, prohibit any person charged for corruption from holding office during vital meetings in Lausanne in May. However, the IOA declined such a blanket ban in a meeting this month. Instead, proposed an ethics committee to look into the case of any official who has been convicted for less than 2 years in jail.
Meanwhile Abhinav Bindra, who won India’s sole individual Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Games, asserted that the administrators have failed the country which still remains an Olympic laggard despite its 1.2 billion population. He agreed that the IOA has failed the country to a certain extent. He emphasized that a lot needs to be done for Indian sport and with their potential. We are nowhere near where we can be. He stressed that they are still stuck with fighting on clauses that are utterly non-negotiable... something which is related to ethics.
Bindra elaborated that the ethical standards are laid down under the Olympic Charter and to challenge that is not good. Moreover, it does not go well for the Olympic movement. In fact, Bindra has been joined by Sushil Kumar, who won a bronze in Beijing and silver in London Olympics for wrestling along with multiple grand slam doubles winning tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi in demanding a corruption-free IOA.
In addition, Indian government has also backed the IOC’s efforts in prohibiting tainted officials from contesting the national Olympic body’s elections.
Bindra admitted that there has been good response to the petition, which will be conveyed shortly to IOC president Jacques Rogge, imploring the world governing body to maintain the "highest moral standards" of the Olympic Movement in the nation.
Bindra, who is one of the few Indian athletes to consistently interrogate India’s sports administrators, claimed that they are at a stage where they can either get reforms in place or return to the status-quo. He mentioned that this petition was started because of all that has happened in the last few weeks. They demand a clean and effective Olympic body where it can assist them and Indian sports to develop and they, the athletes can represent the country and the flag once again. Specifically, the issue is anticipated to be discussed when the IOC meets in Buenos Aires this week to elect a successor to Rogge and select the venue for the 2020 Games.
Particularly, an Olympic ban implies an effective end to funding from the IOC to the national body. As a result, no officials from that association can take part in meetings and certainly, athletes of a banned nation cannot compete under their country’s flag. Bindra commented that it has been frustrating.
He cited the example that in the recent Asian youth games, our athletes participated as independent athletes under the banner of the Olympic Council of Asia, which is disheartening and frustrating. He remarked that they should follow the Olympic charter as well as the guidelines in the same way just as the whole world is following it. They have been suspended for a year and they should get back more reformed.
He highlighted that the most essential thing is that they need to have guidelines along with a structure so that what has happened doesn’t repeat itself. In case one has guidelines set in the constitution, they should never get into a similar situation in future.
